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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The Sainte-Marie-Madeleine church of Biot, located in the Alpes-Maritimes, replaces a first parish church destroyed in 1367 during the demographic crises of the fourteenth century. The village, depopulated, was repopulated in 1470 under the impulse of King René, who attracted genoese families. The reconstruction of the church then began, probably by employing elements of the earlier building. Its plan includes a nave with three arched vessels and three semicircular apses, characteristic of a transitional architecture between Gothic and Renaissance.

The side door of the church was completed in 1506, followed by the main door in 1536, while the wooden vantals date back to 1638. In the 17th century, side chapels were added, and the pebbly mosaic of the parvis was made in 1685. These adjustments reflect the evolution of the liturgical and aesthetic needs of the community. The building also houses major works, such as the altarpiece of the Virgin of the Rosary (circa 1505) painted by Louis Bréa, witness to Marian devotion and Italian artistic influence in the region.

Classified as a historical monument in 1984, the church illustrates the turbulent history of Biot, marked by destruction, reconstruction and a cultural identity combining Provençal and Genoese heritage. Its furniture, including paintings from the 16th and 17th centuries, and its hybrid architecture make it an emblematic heritage of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. Official protection underscores its historical, artistic and community value, rooted in the religious and social landscape of the region for more than five centuries.

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