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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The former convent of the Trinitaries of Saint-Étienne-de-Tinée, located in the district of Ublan, dates back to a first foundation in 1343, but its present location dates back to the seventeenth century. The order of the Trinitarians, dedicated to the redemption of Christian captives held by the Barbaresques, established a house there whose church was rebuilt between 1674 and 1677. This convent, threatened with suppression by 1653, still housed four fathers and two conversants in the middle of the eighteenth century.

The church, decorated with remarkable frescoes, houses in its right side chapel paintings dedicated to the Virgin, financed by the Lord Jules Achiardy of the Alp. To the left of the choir, a chapel dedicated to Notre-Dame du Bon Remède presents a 1685 fresco depicting the Battle of Lepante, with contemporary ships of the time, as well as scenes of captures to the Turks. These works illustrate the spiritual and charitable role of the Trinitarians.

Ranked a historic monument in 1948 for the entire convent, and then partially declassified in 2009, the church was completely classified in 2009. Today integrated into the Collège Jean-Franco, it retains typical architectural elements, such as a single nave flanked by side chapels and a narrower choir. The Conventual, rectangular building extends the building eastward.

The present protection distinguishes the entire church from the rest of the convent, removed from the additional inventory. This site bears witness to both the local religious history and the Mediterranean exchanges linked to the redemption of the captives, a central theme for the Trinitarian order since its foundation by Saint John of Matha and Saint Felix of Valois.

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