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Origin and history

The church of Saint-Jacques-le-Majeur, also called the church of the Gesù, was built in the seventeenth century by the Jesuits as a chapel of their Nice college. Its construction began in 1612 under the name Chiesetta, dedicated to the Holy Name of Jesus and to Saint Just, thanks to a gift from the Nice merchant Pons Ceva, inspired by Saint Philip Néri. The works lasted until 1650, with a major expansion from 1642 under the probable direction of architect Jean-André Guiberto, also associated with the Cathedral of Sainte-Reparate and the Church of the Escarene.

After the Jesuits were expelled in 1773, following the removal of their order by Pope Clement XIV, the church and the college were converted into royal schools. It became parishioner in 1802 under the name of Saint-Jacques-le-Majeur, after the Concordat. Its current baroque façade, made by Aycart in 1825, masks an older structure, while its 42-metre bell tower, in piedmontese-style bare bricks, and its 19th-century vault painted by Hercule Trachel testify to its complex artistic heritage.

Inside, richly decorated with stucco inspired by the basilica Santissima Annunziata del Vastato of Genoa, mixes Mannerist influences with Piedmontese baroque influences. The lateral chapels, dedicated to saints such as Louis de Gonzague or Crépin and Crépin, house retables and paintings from the 17th to the 19th century, reflecting local and corporate devotions. Ranked a historical monument in 1971, the church today embodies a major religious and architectural heritage of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur.

Among its remarkable elements, the nineteenth-century pulpit, decorated with an arm holding a removable cross, recalls the Jesuit eloquence. The paintings of the vault, illustrating the life of St James and Christ, were made after the drawings of Hercules Trachel, an artist also active in Cimiez. These details highlight the central role of the church in the spiritual and cultural life of Nice, from its foundation to its ranking.

The architectural similarities with the church of the Gesù of Rome and the Saints-Martyrs of Turin confirm its anchoring in the post-Tridentine Jesuit tradition. The stumped decor, less maneristic than genoese, marks a transition to the Piedmontese Baroque, while the polychrome tiles of the bell tower evoke ligural influences. These characteristics make it a privileged witness to artistic exchanges in the western Mediterranean during the 17th and 18th centuries.

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