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Origin and history

The church of St. Helena finds its origins in a testamentary legacy of Canon Honoré Rossignoli, provost of the cathedral of Nice. In 1646 he evoked for the first time a chapel dedicated to St Helen in his family property in Carras, and in 1654 confirmed an annual donation to celebrate Masses there. This first chapel, built between 1646 and 1654, is attested in 1693 under the direction of the rector Don Jean-Baptiste Fighiera, originally from Eze. The site remains a modest rural chapel until the beginning of the 18th century.

The transformation into a parish church comes thanks to a major legacy of Marc-Aurèle Rossignoli, son of Jean Rossignoli and senator from Nice. In 1711, he bequeathed his possessions of Carras, including the chapel, to the decal cameras fathers, with funds dedicated to the construction of a church and a convent. After years of administrative blockage (including the vacancy of the episcopal seat between 1706 and 1727), the bishop of Nice finally authorized in 1728, with the agreement of the Holy See, the use of these funds to erect the St. Helena church. Its campanile, of characteristic style, seems added in the second half of the eighteenth century.

The building underwent renovations in the 19th century before being listed for historical monuments on 25 June 1951. Its organ, installed in 1978 by the Provencal Manufacture d Today, the church remains a testimony of the rural religious architecture of Nice and its evolution since the Old Regime.

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