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Origin and history

The fortifications of the Pairolière gate were part of the defensive system of the lower town of Nice, first mentioned in 1359. Prior to that date, a report of 1323 commissioned by the Count of Provence already noted the need for a "good door" near the convent of Augustins, suggesting a pre-existing square tower (late XIIIth–early XIVth century). Four gates then structured the lower town: Marine (or Gabelle), Saint-Éloi, du Pont, and Pairolière – the latter taking its name from the pairs (chaudronniers) of the adjacent street. Between 1356 and 1380 the fortifications were strengthened with circular towers and a round tower near Dominican and Franciscan convents, probably under the impulse of the Sénéchal de Provence before the deed of Nice to the Savoy.

In the 15th century, the arrival of the Counts of Savoy accelerated the adaptations against the nascent artillery. A rectangular ravelin was added in front of the Pairolière door, pierced with arbalstriières (fire windows for crossbows, not for guns), as evidenced by a retable by Louis Bréa around 1516. A first bastion, built between 1520 and 1537, protected the door before the seat of 1543 – its remains still carry the impact of balls. After 1570, a second bastion enlarged the whole, partially masking the original tower, as shown by the plans of Ercole Negro (late 16th century).

The door lost its strategic role in the 18th century with the urbanization of Nice. Demolished in 1706 on the orders of Louis XIV after the siege of 1705, it was replaced by a new enclosure (1717–20), which itself was ineffective in the face of the 1744 strikes. Modern excavations (2000 m2), carried out during the construction of the tramway near Garibaldi Square, exhumed six-metre high structures, including elements of medieval and modern bastions. Classified as a historical monument in 2012, these remains are now preserved in an archaeological crypt under Boulevard Jean-Jaurès.

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