the Provençal style, but without any special features. The only ancient
portion now remaining is the cloister (Fig. 157), built in the simple
Cistertian style, with a circular vault, strengthened with transverse
ribs. The side next the cloister garth is enclosed with a wall, in which
only small openings or windows are perforated--not the usual wide
arcade.
[Illustration: FIG. 157. CLOISTERS, ST HONORAT.]
Of the antique structures of the island an extremely interesting example
still survives in the chapel of the Ste Trinité (Fig. 158), situated at
the eastern point of the island, opposite the islet of Ferreol. It is
very peculiar in design, and is undoubtedly one of the earliest
buildings in Provence.
The plan (Fig. 159) shews a nave of two bays, having one transverse arch
supported on simple columns, with rude caps of the same section as the
string courses or imposts of the arches, beyond which is a triapsal
choir, crowned with a small and rudely-formed dome. The apses have their
semi-domed vaults fairly well constructed, but the central dome is not
raised from any definite pendentives,
[Illustration: FIG. 158. STE TRINITÉ, ST HONORAT.]
but as best it could be done by the workmen of the time out of a lower
dome which fills in the angles between the apses.
[Illustration: FIG. 159. PLAN OF STE TRINITÉ.]
The original exterior (Figs. 160 and 161) is extremely plain, the quoins
and doorway with its square lintel being constructed with large stones,
probably derived from a Roman building (Fig. 162). The upper part of the
walls was raised by the Spaniards, in the sixteenth century, to form a
platform for guns. The earlier form of the western gable is visible in
Fig. 160.
We have evidently, in this primitive structure, a rude attempt to
imitate the triapsal and domical forms originally used in the early
Christian architecture of the cemeteries at Rome, and afterwards more
fully developed in the East. Viollet-le-Duc attributes its erection to
the seventh or eighth century.
[Illustration: FIG. 160. WEST END OF STE TRINITÉ.]
Of the seven chapels which once extended round the island, and formed
the object of many pilgrimages, those of Ste Trinité (just described),
and St Sauveur near the centre of the north side, alone survive. The
latter (Fig. 163) is octagonal on plan, with niches on each of the
sides, and a larger central one, forming an apse opposite the door. This
apse alone is visible on the outside. The chapel is unfortunately
greatly modernised.
In course of time the monastery naturally became rich, and formed a
tempting bait to the Corsairs of the Mediterranean, whether Saracen or
Christian, who attacked and plundered it several times. It is said that
on the occasion of one of these descents in 725 St Porchaire and five
hundred monks were massacred. A restored chapel to the south of the
convent still bears the name of that martyr.
[Illustration: FIG. 161. STE TRINITÉ, EAST END.]
To provide a safe place of retreat in case of similar attacks in future
it was resolved to erect a keep or castle on a promontory of rock which
juts out into the sea at the south side of the island. Here a perpetual
look-out could be kept over the sea from the watch-tower on the summit,
and notice of danger given by ringing the bell (the belfry for which
still exists) in time to enable the monks to take refuge with their
valuables within the keep. The castle is stated to have been begun about
1073 by the Abbé Aldebert II., partly on Roman substructions and partly
on the rock, and the chapel was consecrated in 1088 (_see_ “Les Iles de
Lérins,” by the Abbé Allier.) In fifteen years the second floor was
commenced, and in 1190 the tower was finished. Having been frequently
sacked and destroyed there is some difficulty in making out the original
plan. Besides, containing as it does, an open cloister, it differs so
greatly otherwise
[Illustration: FIG. 162. DOORWAY, STE TRINITÉ.]
[Illustration: FIG. 163. ST SAUVEUR, LÉRINS
(_from Révoil_).]
from the feudal castles of the time, that their plans give little aid in
deciphering that of the monastic keep. It seems, however, to have been
originally (Fig. 164) an oblong building measuring 85 feet from east to
west, and 58 feet from north to south, with a wing projecting to the
southwards. This block was divided into two portions by a central wall
running north and south, and contained in the eastern division an open
cloister, formerly three, though now reduced to two storys in height,
and in the western division the refectory, dormitory, and other
apartments. To the east a small projection or tower contained on the
first floor the lavatory and latrines, and at the top was carried up as
a watch-tower above the parapet, and
[Illustration: FIG. 164.]
surmounted by the belfry for the alarm bell. The space at the north end
of the cloister is (as we shall presently see) a
[Illustration: FIG 165. CASTLE OF ST HONORAT (_from N.-W._)]
later extension of the original keep. The entrance door is in the north
wall (Fig. 165), several feet above the level of the ground. It has a
square lintel, with a round saving arch over it, and the door was
strengthened with a sliding bar. A narrow passage at right angles,
furnished with a second door, leads by a few steps up to the level of
the principal floor and opens on the cloister. This is the most striking
and remarkable part of the castle. It is 40 feet long by 27 feet wide,
and is surrounded with a vaulted gallery (Fig. 166), supported on six
columns--three on each side--leaving open to the sky a central space of
19 feet by 10 feet. The first view of this cloister is most impressive.
The ancient appearance of the granite columns, with their quaint caps
and bases, surmounted by bold pointed arches, above which rises an upper
and lighter arcade; the rich colour of the walls; the sombre effect of
the dark arcades contrasted with the bright light of the open central
court; and the unusual character of the structure, all combine to
produce a powerful and lasting effect on the mind. Nor does a closer
inspection diminish the interest. Some of the pillars are found to be
genuine Roman ones, brought from some ancient building, and here
utilised in a very matter-of-fact though telling manner. The columns
being generally too short, some of them have been pieced up with the
yellow limestone of the district, while others have been elevated on
bases of extra height. Three of the ancient shafts are of granite, one
of red marble, and the remaining two of limestone. On one of the former
(that at the south-west angle) can be read part of an inscription in
honour of Constantine. This shaft has the appearance of having been long
exposed in the open air, and many of the letters are worn away, so that
some parts of the inscription are difficult to decipher. The following
is the rendering of the
[Illustration: FIG. 166. LOWER CLOISTER, ST HONORAT.]
Abbé Allier; the letters within brackets being, however, illegible:--
IMP [CÆS]
FL VAL
CONSTAN
TINO PF
AUG
[DIVIMAX
IMIANI
AUG] NEPOTI
DIVI CON
STANT AUG
[PII FILIO]
[Illustration: FIG. 167. CAPITALS AND BASES, CASTLE OF ST HONORAT.]
[Illustration: FIG. 167^{_a._} CAPITALS AND BASE, CASTLE OF ST HONORAT.]
Another interesting point connected with these pillars is the form and
decoration of their capitals and bases (Figs. 167 and 167^_a_). At first
sight they look very rude and primitive, but on careful examination they
are seen to possess certain characteristics which belong to a
comparatively late period, thus raising a suspicion as to their
antiquity, which the evidently late vaulting of the cloister tends to
confirm. One is therefore somewhat puzzled how to regard them, and what
date to assign to them. But a comparison of the caps and bases of St
Honorat with those of the cloister of Thoronet at once removes all
difficulty. Original and quaint as both are, they are evidently (with
the exception of some which are later, and will be afterwards referred
to) the product of the same style and period. The Abbé Allier informs us
that in 1295 the Abbot Gancelme de Mayreris did much work in the
interior of the tower, and in 1315 a general chapter granted certain
fines in order to raise funds for its completion. To this period
probably belongs the first construction of the cloister. But in 1400 the
monastery was attacked by Genoese pirates, commanded by one Salageri,
who took the castle by assault, imprisoned the monks, and pillaged the
monastery. These Corsairs kept possession of the castle for about a
year, and were only got rid of by a general muster of the nobility of
Provence, with their retainers. The invaders probably greatly destroyed
the building; for we learn that after 1400 the cloisters, “L’Escalier
tournant,” and other works were commenced, and carried on by one
Gastolius de Grasse, who died in 1422. These facts indicate two periods
of considerable operations at the castle, one in the beginning of the
fourteenth and the other of the fifteenth century. Some of the caps
(such as A, D, and E), which so strikingly resemble those of the
cloisters of Thoronet, probably belong to the first of these periods;
while others (like B) have been executed in imitation of them, but
contain details which are undoubtedly of the period of the later work.
The capital (B) and most of the bases are clearly of the fifteenth
century; the style of the ogee and other mouldings, and the foliage of
the griffes or claws at the angles and on the cap B, being of a late
character. The form of the vaulting (Fig. 168), with its thin groins all
dying away to one sharp point at the springing, and without caps or
corbels to rest on, also corresponds with that date. The cloister arches
are pointed, but have no mouldings. It was in 1394, shortly before the
second of the above periods, that the body of St Honorat was
[Illustration: FIG. 168. LOWER CLOISTER IN CASTLE, ST HONORAT.]
brought to the island from Forcalquier. Altogether, at this time the
monastery seems to have been in great activity, and extensive works
appear to have been then carried out at the castle. The portion
adjoining the north side of the cloister was at that time extended, so
as to form a projection to the northward, containing the “Escalier
tournant” above mentioned. The elliptical arch of the doorway to this
wheel-stair (_see_ Fig. 166) is evidently a late work, and a wide joint
or crack in the masonry, shewing the point from which the extension
northward took place, can be distinctly seen in the exterior of the east
wall (Fig. 169), where it extends from top to bottom of the castle. The
style of the masonry of this portion is also smoother than the original
work, which is left rough or “bossy” on the surface. The object of this
addition has probably been to provide a space for a guard-room near the
entrance to the castle with a wide staircase, and a broad platform on
the roof for defensive purposes. Beneath the cloister is a large cistern
or tank, stated by the Abbé Allier to have been constructed by Gastolius
de Grasse early in the fifteenth century; it contains a supply of good
water. A steep stair opposite the entrance door leads down to some small
cellars, arranged in two storys (Fig. 170), under a portion only of the
western part of the tower.
Ascending the “Escalier tournant,” the steps of which are four feet
long, we arrive at the upper cloister (Fig. 171). This contains a
gallery all round, with a parapet next the open court, on which stand
twelve octagonal columns supporting as many pointed arches (Fig. 172).
The whole is built in fine white marble, and the design is in the
Italian-Gothic style, somewhat similar to that of the cloister arches at
Fréjus. Some of the shafts and caps are evidently restorations in
imitation of older ones (Fig. 173).
Allier states that the arms of the Grimaldi family
[Illustration: FIG. 169. CASTLE OF ST HONORAT (_from N.-E._)]
[Illustration: FIG. 170. CASTLE OF ST HONORAT (_section from N. to S._)]
could be traced on one side of this cloister, two members of that house
having been Abbots commendatory of the Lérins. This probably marks the
date of the restoration--fifteenth century--but the original pillars
seem to be at least a century older. Some of the tiles of the floor,
which are of a plain red colour and square, still remain. Although the
cloister is now roofed in over the first floor, the section (_see_ Fig.
170) indicates that there was formerly a third story. The corbels in the
wall to support the beams of the roof are distinctly visible. The roof
may have formed a platform nearly on the level of the battlements. The
two upper floors were not vaulted, but arches were thrown across at the
four angles (_see_ Fig. 172) against the outer wall so as to strengthen
and steady the whole structure. On the first floor (Fig. 171) the
northern addition forms a recess, covered with a plain circular vault,
and lighted by a wide window provided with stone seats. The east
projection also forms a recess with a small window and a locker in the
wall. This was probably the sacristy, as it adjoins the chapel in the
south wing.
[Illustration: FIG. 171. CASTLE OF ST HONORAT, LÉRINS.]
The southern wing or projection seems to be of the same date as the
original castle, and to have formed part
[Illustration: FIG. 172. UPPER CLOISTER, CASTLE OF ST HONORAT.]
of it. On the ground floor it is covered with a plain semicircular
tunnel vault similar in construction to that of the northern projection,
but there is no indication on the exterior of there having been any
extension of the masonry, such as above indicated at the northern end.
The first floor of the south wing contains the chapel, 25 feet by 26
feet with a groined vault about 28 feet high (_see_ Fig. 170). The ribs
are large and of a square section, and rest on plain corbels in the
angles, the construction of the whole being very simple. The windows are
small and have the same recesses deeply splayed towards the outside, as
occur in the old part of the east wall in the upper cloister, and which
indicate an early date.
[Illustration: FIG. 173. UPPER CLOISTER, ST HONORAT, DETAILS.]
The chapel was probably part of the original design, and was restored in
the fourteenth century. We read that in 1342, the Abbot Geoffrey had the
“choir” constructed in Toulon. This no doubt refers to a wooden gallery
or stalls, which were then fitted up, but have now entirely
disappeared.
The western portion of the castle was divided in the centre by a wall
running east and west. The northern division seems to have contained the
kitchen, and the other half the original refectory. The stone sink still
exists in the kitchen window to the north. The windows looking to the
west are small and high, the sill being stepped up. The upper floors in
this wing would contain the dormitories, being provided with fireplaces
and garderobes in the walls. But this part of the building was much
altered in the seventeenth or eighteenth centuries, and Mérimée mentions
that when he visited the Island in 1834, the place was divided up into
small rooms with plaster partitions, and, he adds, “some of the chambers
are still painted in the style of the eighteenth century, several of the
panels over the doors representing shepherds and shepherdesses in the
style of Van Loo, decorations one would scarcely look for amongst the
monks.”
At a period subsequent to the original erection of the castle, the angle
contained between the southern projection and the main building was
enclosed with a wall and added to the structure. The walls of this
addition are much thinner than the old ones, being only about 4 feet,
while those of the original castle are from 8 to 10 feet thick. That
this portion is an addition is evident from the style of the masonry of
the old southern wall, which is visible in the interior of the
extension, and corresponds with the rough ashlar of the exterior walls
generally (_see_ Fig. 174, right side).
The principal floor of this addition, entering off the lower cloister,
was used as the refectory (Fig. 174). It is 47 feet long by 16 feet
wide, and is roofed with a round tunnel vault strengthened with
transverse ribs. This structure must belong to a comparatively late
period--probably the fifteenth century--but it is noteworthy that the
old Provençal style of tunnel vaulting, strengthened with transverse
ribs, having a simple ovalo for the string course or impost, and “cut
off” corbels, is still maintained.
[Illustration: FIG. 174. REFECTORY, CASTLE OF ST HONORAT.]
The custom of reading to the monks during meals by one of their number
was evidently observed here, from the semi-circular recess or pulpit,
raised a few steps above the floor, which is formed in the wall at the
north-east angle.
The basement of this addition may have been used as cellars and stores,
and was reached by a wheel stair in the thickness of the wall. The upper
floor (now destroyed) was the library, which contained a large number of
valuable MSS., now dispersed and lost.
At the restoration of the fifteenth century, the top of the castle on
the sides next the land (Figs. 165 and 169) was crowned with a stone
parapet projected on bold corbels, with wide machicolations or apertures
for defence between them.
In 1524, and again in 1536, the castle was attacked and taken by the
Spaniards, who, on the latter occasion, were commanded by the famous
Genoese Captain Andrea Doria, on the part of Charles V. Some additional
buildings were added by the Spaniards to render the castle more
defensible according to the ideas of the sixteenth century. A narrow
gangway only 4 to 5 feet wide was built, by which alone access could be
obtained to the entrance doorway; and this was defended by a double
doorway at its outer end, where also it could only be reached by a
narrow stair placed at right angles. To the north of this was a ditch
and drawbridge. An outer wall seems also to have enclosed the castle on
the west side, and some additional buildings were erected at the
south-west angle, but these have now almost entirely crumbled away.
This ancient ruin, so interesting historically and architecturally, is
not less so artistically. Whether we regard the venerable aspect of the
antique cloister or the rich golden colour of the exterior, contrasting
so beautifully with the dark-green of the pines and the deep blue of the
southern sea and sky, nothing could be more charming or delightful.
After the above dates the castle seems to have been garrisoned by the
Crown of France, and was frequently taken and retaken by the Spaniards
and the French. It was at this period that the Chapel of Ste Trinité was
heightened, and fortified with two cannons; while, at the same time,
other batteries were erected at different points round the island.
Meanwhile the monastery had dwindled away, but the monks still retained
their suzerainty over Cannes, Vallauris, Napoule, and other villages on
the mainland. Finally, in 1788, the number of monks had become reduced
to four, when, on the request of the Bishop of Grasse, the monastery was
secularised. Thereafter the island has several times changed hands, and
now it is occupied by a body of Cistertian Monks, who cultivate the soil
and superintend an orphanage.
[Illustration: FIG. 175. CASTLE OF STE MARGUÉRITE.]
The adjoining island of STE MARGUÉRITE has but little interest
architecturally. The fort, which is built on the precipitous rock on the
north side of the island, facing the Croisette point at the eastern
extremity of the bay of Cannes, was erected by Richelieu. Scarcely
finished, it was attacked and taken by the Spaniards in 1635, who
enlarged it, and after being recovered by the French, was repaired by
Vauban. The view of the castle from the Croisette is picturesque and
pleasing (Fig. 175); but the only point worth inspecting close at hand
is the prison in which the “man with the iron mask” was confined by
Louis XIV. for seventeen years. The extreme thickness of the walls
(above 12 feet), the window defended by three successive gratings in
the depth of the wall, the double doors covered with iron studs and
secured with iron bars, give some idea of the importance of that
mysterious prisoner.
In the environs of Cannes there are numerous delightful walks and
excursions amongst the olives and vines of the valleys, or by footpaths
over the pine-clad hills. One of the most favourite of these is to the
town of VALLAURIS, famous for its fine pottery ware. It may be reached
by a road through a rocky valley, which branches off the main road to
Antibes, at Golfe Juan, or by a footpath, forming a pleasant walk of
some four miles across the hills, past the wayside chapel of St Antoine,
which crowns the “col” between the two valleys. From this point a
splendid view is obtained over Vallauris and its surrounding hills,
above which, in the distance, rise the snowy peaks of the Maritime Alps.
At Vallauris there still exists an interesting architectural relic,
being the original chapel of the summer palace of the Abbot of the
Lérins. This residence, situated as it is amongst the hills some way
inland from the sea, enjoys in summer a more temperate climate than the
Island of St Honorat, which is said to be the hottest place in Provence.
The property was acquired by the monastery in 1042, under a charter of
Aldebert, Bishop of Antibes, and here the abbots built their seignorial
castle. The chapel probably dates from the thirteenth century. The
remainder of the palace was demolished in the end of the fourteenth
century by a famous brigand, Raymond de Turenne, who devastated the
whole coast of Provence. In the beginning of the sixteenth century one
of the monks of the Lérins, Régnier de Lascaris, rebuilt the town on a
regular plan, with good streets placed at right angles, presenting a
very striking contrast to the network of
[Illustration: FIG. 176. ABBOT’S SUMMER PALACE, VALLAURIS.]
[Illustration: FIG. 177. CHAPEL OF ABBOT’S SUMMER PALACE, VALLAURIS.]
narrow tortuous lanes which form the usual streets of Provençal towns.
The houses were constructed for the accommodation of the workmen
employed at the celebrated potteries of the valley, which were well
known even in Roman times, and are still of world-wide fame. The palace
was probably rebuilt about the same time, and possesses some picturesque
features (Fig. 176). The chapel is (Fig. 177) like that of Cannes, a
simple nave,
[Illustration: FIG. 178. CHAPEL OF ABBOT’S SUMMER PALACE, VALLAURIS.]
31 feet long by 16 feet wide, with round apse about 10 feet deep. It is
roofed in two bays (Fig. 178), with a pointed barrel-vault, having one
square transverse rib in the centre, supported by a simple pilaster on
each side, with a string course at the wall-head, and impost “cut off,”
all as at the Mont du Chevalier. The apse is round, and has a pointed
semi-dome instead of a round one, as at the latter. The windows are
small and pointed, and have the deep external splay so common in all
these buildings. There are two doors, also pointed, one of which enters
at the south side from the castle court, and the other at the west end
from the outside. The pointed arches in the doors and windows probably
indicate a somewhat later date than the round ones of the “Mont du
Chevalier.”
The chapel is now occupied as an oil mill.
[Illustration: FIG. 179. “MAISON DU BRIGAND,” LE CANNET.]
A wide boulevard has recently been constructed, leading from the centre
of Cannes straight northwards for a distance of about two miles, through
the only ground near the town which is at all level, to the village of
LE CANNET. Here an ancient machicolated tower (Fig. 179), called the
“Maison du brigand” (now crowned with a
[Illustration: FIG. 180. NOTRE DAME DES ANGES, LE CANNET.]