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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The church Saint-Mayeul de Cipières, located in the Alpes-Maritimes, is mentioned for the first time in 1158, in a context where the first castle of the village probably dates from the first half of the 12th century. At that time, the church, isolated on a platform, coexisted with a clustered habitat near the castle. It was only from the fourteenth century that the village gradually moved towards the present site, around the church, whose dedication to Saint Mayeul was attested from that time.

A major reconstruction took place in the 16th century, around 1572 (engraved date), marking an urban development towards the west and, to a lesser extent, towards the east. This era also saw the addition of two side chapels and the conservation of capes that had supported dogive crosses. The bell tower was entirely rebuilt between 1743 and 1750 by the masons Jean Baudoin and Jean Roubaud, according to the plans of Honoré Faissole and Pierre Martin. Its campanile, dated 1750, crowns a roof in a pavilion covered with plumbing tiles, as evidenced by the cost estimates of 1860.

The church houses remarkable furniture, including a reliquary of the head of Saint Mayeul and a reliquary arm containing a finger of the saint, decorated with a ring supposed to contain a stone of the temple of Jerusalem, certified by a prelate. Another reliquary, now extinct, contained a vial of milk of the Virgin, authenticated by Antoine Godeau, bishop of Vence in the seventeenth century. These objects illustrate the spiritual and historical importance of the site.

Ranked a historical monument in 1989, the church reflects the architectural and social evolutions of Cipières, from its central role in medieval life to its integration into the modern urban fabric. Its mid-air walls (façade and bedside) and its bellows (clocher) bear witness to successive constructive techniques, while its inscription in the heritage protects this testimony of the Alpes-Maritimes.

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