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Origin and history

The chapel of the Visitation Sainte-Claire, located in the Old Nice, is part of an architectural complex including a convent, a washhouse and a garden. Built at the beginning of the 17th century by clarisse sisters, it was completed by a convent in the second half of the same century. The ensemble was disused during the French Revolution, then attributed in 1828 to the visiting sisters by King Victor Emmanuel I of Sardinia, who renamed it chapel of the Visitation-Sainte-Claire. This double name, combined with the proximity to another chapel of Providence, has often generated historical confusion.

In 1828, the frisquist Giuseppe Toselli decorated inside the chapel, marking his classical style. After the departure of the visiting sisters in 1960, the city of Nice bought the place and undertook major restorations in 1985. The artists of Nice Patrice Giuge and Marc Lavalle restored the facade, inspired by Toselli's ornamental vocabulary, adding portraits of Saint Claire and Saint Joseph. The chapel, classified as a Historic Monument in 1989, was then entrusted to the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pie-X in 1987.

The convent, disused since the 2000s, was transformed into a five-star hotel in 2024 after a 90-year lease signed with Perseus. Today the chapel houses contemporary works, such as a cross Christ by Cyril de La Patellière (2022) and a cross path by Hugo Bogo. His story was also marked by the arrest in 1989 of Paul Touvier, hidden in the priory, before his conviction for crimes against humanity in 1994.

The ensemble, including the chapel, the choir of the nuns, the parlor and the gardens, illustrates the religious and architectural evolution of Nice, mixing medieval heritage, Baroque and modern restorations. Its inscription in the Historical Monuments in 1989 underlines its heritage value, between sacred art and urban conversion.

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