<< The Roman Ruins || The Chapelle Cocteau >>
From the fourth century, Fréjus was a seat of bishops and an important town in the early church. The compound of buildings, known as the Groupe Épiscopal, includes a 10th- to 13th-century cathedral, a 12th-century cloister and a baptistry that is one of the oldest buildings in France. The main entrance to all three buildings is through the Cloister, 48 Rue du Cardinal Fleury, 83600 Fréjus, ☎ 33 04 94 51 26 30, www.monum.fr. The Cathedral is open mornings from 9 am to noon and from 4 to 6 pm, every day except May 1. Opening hours for the rest of the compound are 9 am to noon and 2 to 5 pm from October to through the end of March, 9 am to 7 pm from April through the end of September. Closed Mondays and New Year’s Day, November 1, November 11 and Christmas Day. Admission €4.60.
The Baptistry: This unusual 5th-century building appears square on the outside and is octagonal on the inside. Columns used in the construction by the early Christian community who built it have white marble Corinthian capitals, taken from monuments in the Roman town. They are virtually the only decoration in the bare, blue-grey granite interior. An octagonal baptismal pool was discovered by archaeologists in the 1920s. It had been covered by later marble and decoration.
The Cathedral: As with the other buildings in this compound, the Cathedral was probably built on the foundations of Roman structures. It has two naves from distinctly different periods, separated by three large arcades. The Notre Dame nave, which has ribbed vaulting, is probably the earliest, while the Saint Etienne nave, which is barrel vaulted, dates from the 11th and 12th centuries. A 15th-century altarpiece by Pierre Durandi is notable in this simple and otherwise undecorated church.
The Cloister: On the north side of the Baptistry, a 12th-century Romanesque cloister maintains its peaceful, contemplative atmosphere around a small garden with a well. The ceilings of the galleries, on the other hand, are a riot of detail. They are covered with 1,200 painted wooden panels. The 400 of them still legible are decorated with men, animals and monsters. Local people entered the Cathedral through the cloister in the Middle Ages; the painted panels, which include military, secular and religious figures as well as a remarkably fantastic bestiary, was probably for their moral instruction.
The Diocesan Palace: Partially reconstructed in the 19th century, the ancient episcopal palace is a fortified residence with a crenelated tower that incorporates an ancient chapel. Much-restored, the side facing Rue du Beausset is the original 14th-century façade, built of red stone from the Massif de l’Estérel.
<< The Roman Ruins || The Chapelle Cocteau >>
