Saint Peter's Chapel, Religious chapel in Villefranche-sur-Mer, France.
Saint Peter's Chapel is a fishermen's chapel at the foot of the old town of Villefranche-sur-Mer, on Quai Courbet at the entrance to the Port de la Santé. It is a small chapel, probably built in the second half of the 16th century, whose entire interior surface and facade were covered in 1957 with a painted decoration by Jean Cocteau. The interior has five main scenes: two evoke Mediterranean life and three recount episodes from the life of Saint Peter.
Built probably in the second half of the 16th century as the fishermen's chapel of Villefranche-sur-Mer, it also served as a net store and as the fishing court of the Prud'homie. In 1957 Jean Cocteau covered the whole interior with a painted decor, his first painted chapel, inaugurated by a mass on 30 June 1957. It was classified as a Monument historique on 27 December 1996.
The chapel belongs to the Prud'homie des pêcheurs de Villefranche, the fishermen's guild that still owns it. It was long used as a net store and as the fishing court where guild members settled disputes, as an inscription on the facade noted in the early 20th century. Charlie Chaplin visited with Cocteau on 18 July 1957.
The chapel stands on quai Courbet at the entrance to the port de la Santé, at the foot of the old town, so it is reached on foot from the harbour rather than by car. It still belongs to the Prud'homie des pêcheurs de Villefranche, the fishermen's association, which means access depends on that private owner and is not guaranteed at all hours.
The chapel still belongs to the Prud'homie des pêcheurs de Villefranche, the fishermen's guild that has owned it since its construction. Charlie Chaplin visited on 18 July 1957 with Jean Cocteau, before the chapel was inaugurated by a mass on 30 June 1957.
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