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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The cathedral of Saint-François-de-Sales de Chambéry, initially a modest convent chapel of Franciscans, began its construction around 1420. It was enlarged and consecrated in 1488 and completed in 1585. From the 15th century, it welcomed the Shroud of Turin during solemn ostensions, attracting many pilgrims. The Chambériens nicknamed it "Métropole" because of its central location on the square of the same name.

During the Revolution, the church of the Cordeliers was desecrated but spared by demolitions. In 1779, she became cathedral under the invocation of the Annunciation and Blessed Amédée IX, before being dedicated to Saint Francis de Sales in 1802 by Bishop René des Montiers of Mérinville. The concordat of 1801 marked his restoration as episcopal seat.

The cathedral was listed as a historic monument in 1906. Its molasse stone façade, restored between 2006 and 2009, reveals a flamboyant Gothic architecture, with a central nave of 23 meters high and polygonal chapels. The marshy basement required 30,000 larch stilts to stabilize the building, without transept.

Inside is the largest collection of trompe-l'oeil paintings in Europe (6 000 m2), made between 1810 and 1885 by Fabrizio Sevesi, Casimir Vicario and Bernard Sciolli. These later restored works simulate celestial vaults and Gothic decorations. In 2014, the diocese of Turin offered a copy of the Shroud of Turin, exhibited in the chapel of the Resurrection.

The organ, classified as a historical monument in 1988, was built in 1847 by Augustin Zeiger according to German romantic principles. Modified several times (1895, 1960), it was restored in 2004 by Pascal Quetrin in the original spirit. The cathedral also preserves a treasure including a 15th century Nativity and a 12th century Byzantine ivory diptych.

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