Every year, the people of Nice and the faithful pay tribute to Saint Reparata, the patron saint of Nice and Florence. This year will be no different, in the heart of Old Nice.
Saint Reparata was a young Christian saint, virgin, and martyr from Caesarea in Palestine, who is said to have died in 250, during the reign of Emperor Decius (249-251), amidst the brief but violent persecution he conducted against new religions, including Christianity.
According to tradition, Reparata’s torture began with fire and she was saved by a providential downpour. Her torturers tried to make her swallow boiling pitch, but she miraculously survived the ordeal, only to eventually be beheaded. Her body, placed in a boat, drifted across the Mediterranean.
Angels are said to have brought the boat to the shores of Nice, thus giving their name to the famous bay of Nice. The remains of the saint were buried in a chapel located in the old town before being placed in 1690 in the cathedral erected on the site of the former chapel.
Consecrated in 1699, it was placed under the protection of Reparata as evidenced by the painting that surmounts the high altar in the choir of the building.
