Sainte Jeanne d'Arc Church, Art Deco Catholic church in Nice, France
Sainte-Jeanne-d'Arc is a church built in Art Deco style with a striking white reinforced concrete exterior and a soaring bell tower reaching about 65 meters. The interior is defined by three large oval domes supported by eight smaller cupolas, creating a spacious and luminous environment.
In 1914 Father Quillery became priest of the new parish of Saint-Jérôme, and Louis Castel began the church, building a first crypt. Work stopped after Castel's death and World War I; Jacques Droz added a second crypt in 1924, and the concrete base was laid in 1931. The church was built in reinforced concrete between 1932 and 1934 and listed as a monument historique on 12 June 1992.
The church is dedicated to Joan of Arc, and its nickname "the Meringue" comes from the white colour of the concrete domes. The interior frescoes of the Stations of the Cross, painted by Eugène Klementieff in 1934, draw on Russian Cubism, Byzantine Orthodox icons and the Italian Quattrocento.
The church stands in the Fuon-Cauda neighbourhood, with the former cinema entrance at 7 rue Charles-Péguy marking the old basement level. The bell tower rises 64 metres, its openwork spire meant to evoke the paschal candle, and contrasts with the curved domes below. Look up inside: the vaults reach 25 metres, held by only four pillars.
The church is nicknamed "the Meringue" for its white colour, and its style divides locals, some of whom judge it ugly. The 64-metre bell tower, with its slender openwork spire, is meant to represent the paschal candle, and its angular form contrasts with the curves of the domes.
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