Chapelle Impériale

English translation

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History

Cardinal Fesch, who died in exile in Rome in 1839, had allocated in his will a sum for the construction of a mortuary chapel to be buried there along with members of his family. His universal legatee, Joseph Bonaparte, having not executed this clause, it was Napoleon III who, in 1851, ordered the translation of the remains of the Cardinal and Madame Mère. Two architects of the crown were designated for the project and execution of the monument. Paccard drew up the plans and Caseneuve directed the works which began in 1857 and ended in 1859. The plan forms a Latin cross and presents a nave with aisles, crossed by a transept whose four great arches support a dome lit from the top. The main façade opens through a great arch giving access to the entrance porch. From the porch, entry is made through a bronze door. The aisles are closed by means of wrought iron grilles. Inside, the walls are covered with stucco imitating marble. The choir, the pendentives and the coffered dome are decorated with grisaille. The aisles are lit by six openings with stained glass windows. The floor is paved in white and black marble. The octagonal crypt situated below is covered in white marble. The sarcophagi were carved into the thickness of the walls and are closed by slabs of black marble. It is lit by an openwork bronze rosette sealed in the paving of the chapel, at the centre of the transept.