This Saturday, November 22, starting at 9:45 AM, the people of Nice will pay homage to Catherine Ségurane in the presence of the authorities. This character, one of the most famous in Nice, only appeared at the beginning of the 17th century, under the pen of historian Honoré Pastorelli, who was the first to mention our heroine, fifty years after the events she is said to have participated in.
It was in 1923 that the Committee of Niçoises Traditions placed a stele in her honor near the presumed site of her exploits (rue Sincaire).
Portrayed as a woman from the people, a laundress by trade, Catherine Ségurane is said to have, during the siege of Nice in 1543, knocked out a Turkish ensign with a laundry bat, thus seizing the enemy’s flag.
This act of bravery is said to have destabilized the adversary and allowed for repelling the assault from the French and Turks, allies against the House of Savoy. Described as ugly and nicknamed “Dona maufacha,” Catherine Ségurane symbolizes, in the collective imagination, the resistance and mobilization of an entire people, particularly that of women.
She remains, even today, a reference and source of inspiration for Niçoise literary and musical creation.
Real or not, she remains present in the memory of the people of Nice, who fervently pay her homage every year.
The program includes the departure of the procession from Place Toja with stops accompanied by commentary in Niçois and French. At each stop, a text written by historian Jean-Paul Potron will be read in French and Niçois (Niçois reading by Sylvain Casagrande, director of the Occitan Language Department at the Faculty of Arts); then Mass will be celebrated at the Church of Saint-Augustin by Monsignor Blanchi, with liturgical texts and songs in Niçois.
The homage in front of the Catherine Ségurane stele will take place at Place Saint-Augustin, with speeches from the Officials.
At the end of the speeches, dances from the County of Nice by the Ciamada Nissarda, followed by the traditional glass of friendship.
