Cloitre de la Cathédrale

Until the beginning of the 12th century, the Chapter of Fréjus, composed of XNUMX canons and led by a provost, remained under the close supervision of the bishop, whose income and housing it shared. After disagreements, an arbitration separated the assets of the two partners. It was after this that the canons chose to settle to the north of the cathedral and it was at this time that the Cloister galleries were built. It served as a forecourt for the Cathedral. In the eastern wall of the gallery we can see the trace of the medieval door of the Cathedral; it is now walled up as well as the oculus above it.

On the ground floor, double marble columns receive the fall of the pointed arches. Carrara marble columns, carved from the old podium of the Amphitheatre, or marble columns from Genoa, a city that maintained intense commercial relations with Fréjus. These capitals present a simplified version of the classic Corinthian capital. To the south, a chapter house established above the vestibule of the Cathedral welcomed the canons during their deliberations.

A stone vault was planned to cover the galleries. Some traces of anchors are still visible. Certainly too heavy, it was replaced in the middle of the 1350th century (1246) by a larch frame, appreciated for its plasticity and reputed to be rot-proof, from the Boscodon forest in the Hautes-Alpes. Each of the caissons of this frame received a painted decoration. The presence of the fleur-de-lis, on one of the caissons, cannot be earlier than 1, the date on which Charles I of Anjou, brother of Saint-Louis, became Count of Provence. 1200 painted caissons in the 4 galleries of the Cloister were made. Currently 400 are still visible. The themes are varied: hybrid beings, monsters, Saints, busts, scenes from daily life, ecclesiastics... This ensemble is an exceptional example of painted decoration from the XNUMXth century, unique in a Cloister in France.

The Provost's house was located to the east of the Cloister, on the 1st floor. This western façade shows us a wall in rusticated stonework similar to that of the bell tower and chevet of the Cathedral. In the centre, a pointed arch door is sheltered by a stumping-hole, a sort of high opening which allowed stones to be thrown at the approaching enemy.

The upper floor, very mutilated, suffered greatly during the French Revolution. Sold as national property, the Cloister was then completely invaded by new constructions and was then classified as a Historic Monument in 1875. It was then that the Cloister and the old well, which overlooks an ancient Roman cistern, were restored by Jules-Camille Formigé, chief architect of Historic Monuments, between 1922 and 1931, as well as the double staircase leading to the upper floor.

The restoration of the roof of the east, west and south galleries gradually became essential to restore the monument's volume, but even more so to ensure the conservation of the painted decoration of its wooden ceiling. This work was carried out in 2008 according to the projects drawn up by the architect Francesco Flavigny.

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