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Origin and history

The Chapel Saint-Sauveur is a chapel located on the island of Saint-Honorat, in the bay of Cannes, dependent on the commune of Cannes in the Alpes-Maritimes. It is one of the seven chapels of the Lérins Abbey, six of which still remain today. Its origin dates back to the fifth century, when Honorat and Caprais withdrew with the agreement of the bishop of Fréjus, Saint Léonce. Archaeological excavations revealed an occupation of the site from that time, with a first rectangular chapel abandoned in the sixth century.

The chapel underwent several transformations: enlarged to the west, it was then abandoned in the eighth century, as evidenced by a dump and a piece of Al-Andalus linked to the martyrdom of Saint Porcaire during a Sarrasin raid around 732. A new octagonal chapel, dedicated to the Saint-Sauveur, was probably rebuilt in the early 11th century, with a star vault added in the 12th century. Its central plan and semicircular niches make it a remarkable building.

The chapel was listed as a historic monument in 1886. After the secularization of the abbey in 1787, the island changed ownership several times before being redeemed in 1859 by the bishop of Fréjus, who began his restoration from 1869. Today it bears witness to the monastic and religious history of the region, linked to the abbey of Lérins.

The 1948 excavations ruled out the hypothesis of a Baptistery, suggesting rather that it was a martyrium. The chapel, with its octagonal plan and star vault, illustrates the Carolingian influence and liturgical importance of the island Saint-Honorat, a place of monastic life since the 5th century.

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