Church of Gesù, Nice, Baroque church in Old Town, Nice, France
The Church of Gesù, also called Saint-Jacques-le-Majeur, stands on Rue Droite in Old Nice. Its three-tiered facade, completed in 1825 by Aycart, is yellow with blue-grey panels and bears the inscription "DIVO JACOBO MAIORI APOSTOLO" above the wooden door. The interior vault, 36 metres long and 14 metres wide, is painted with scenes of Saint James the Great based on drawings by Hercule Trachel.
Construction began in 1642 following a donation by merchant Pons Neva, who had previously founded a Jesuit school in 1603. The building reflects baroque architectural principles adapted to the local context of the Nice region.
The church is also called Gesù, from its Jesuit origin, and took the name Saint-Jacques-le-Majeur when it became a parish in 1802. The vault paintings follow drawings by Nice-born painter Hercule Trachel (1820–1872), who also worked at the Cimiez monastery church.
The church stands on Rue Droite in the Old Town, a short walk from the Cours Saleya market. Visitors enter from the street through the double wooden door beneath the plaque reading "DIVO JACOBO MAIORI APOSTOLO". It is an active parish, so visits are best timed outside Mass; keep voices low and shoulders and knees covered.
The 42-metre bell tower is built of bare brick, a material rare in Nice and linked to Piedmontese building practice. Its dome is covered with polychrome scalloped tiles in a Ligurian fashion. Look for it above the rooftops of the Old Town, where its brickwork sets it apart from the surrounding plastered facades.
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