Two iconic buildings in Nice and its history are set to experience a renaissance and the glory of their past. A Supreme Court was decided upon and created in 1614 in Nice, it began its sessions in 1655 and became a Court of Appeal in 1848.
The old Senate, which for most meant the night asylum, will regain its grandeur with a new purpose for its premises. Traveling up the old town via the Rue Droite, you arrive at the Place Saint François. Here, there are three buildings whose rehabilitation is desired by the town hall. The Communal Palace, built in 1584, was constantly expanded and modified until the 18th century. It served as the town hall until 1868, then as the chamber of commerce, a police station, and the labor exchange in 1893.
L’aigle d’Or and the garbage dumpster depot must also change their assignments to become a museum, an exhibition center, in any case, in the more distant future.
The old Senate is no longer the night asylum. The rehabilitation of the buildings allowed rediscovering parts of the military heritage, city walls, and defenses. Today, the little heritage school is installed there. It welcomes schoolchildren, where workshops, varying each year, allow them to discover their city and its roots. The building is significant and should allow, in the near future during this mandate, the development of meeting rooms, conference and projection rooms. A Niçoise cooking workshop is planned. A library would be available to the public.
Municipal councilor Mr. Jean Luc Gag then outlined the project for Saint François Square. For the general public, this square is the fish market and a clock tower where the Nice flag proudly flies in the wind. But how many know the history of this tower, why this square is dedicated to Saint François, and was this house always the labor exchange?
The long-term project, whose realization will occur in a future mandate, is ambitious: to rediscover the former Franciscan convent now occupied by garbage dumpsters, to restore the building’s past grandeur, and to use the Aigle d’Or building for art exhibitions. The communal palace would become the House of Niçoise Memory and Traditions. As we can see, the projects are ambitious, some still in the planning stages, others already realized or underway.
The goal is to restore the former charm to these places too long abandoned. The heritage school, dominated by Castle Hill, where it all began, where Medieval Nice was born.
Thierry Jan
