Day 33 - jeudi

3 mars 2011

Today I finally traveled beyond the city limits of Nice. Kate and I took the bus to Vence. It is a little village in the mountains, not far from the coast. It is noted for it’s beautiful “old town” that is a walled city, and the Dominican chapel which was designed by Henri Matisse - quite a contrast of notable attractions.

The bus trip took one hour. We arrived just after 4:00 p.m.  Kate is a master traveler. Her first technique is to find the information office and then head out. We were directed to go to the Matisse chapel first since it closes to the public at 5:30. It was about a 20-minute walk across the bridge and up the hill.

The Dominican chapel is called “Rosary Chapel”, like the one in Sinsinawa, Wisconsin. That is where the similarities end. This chapel is quite small, it could hold maybe 50-70 people at the most. The windows have a leaf pattern rendered in Matisse’s favorite bright blue and yellow. The rest of the chapel is stark white with large drawings painted on a tile surface. (No pictures were allowed, sorry.) The wall to the right was of Mary holding Jesus. On the wall behind the altar, also on the right, was an outline of St. Dominic holding a book. Both of these drawings, which are formed from black lines on white tile blocks, are stark. The back wall of the chapel has the 14 stations of the cross, in the same severe style, crowded into the space, back and forth across the length of the wall. Matisse’s style may have inspired the pictographs in the Good News Bible that was so popular in the 1970s. The altar was made of stone and had a candelabra with 5 candles. All were designed by Matisse.

Behind the chapel was a small museum with a collection of drawings and models of the chapel as Matisse was developing his ideas. Also on display were the vestments he designed for use here. They must have been quite a shocking display in their time, around 1950. All the colors of the seasons of the church year were represented; even the rose color was there.

Next we walked to the old town that we had seen across the canyon. The structure and organization of a city within walls is amazing. The streets are quite narrow, some being just roomy enough for a car to pass, but not others. Pictures cannot capture the feeling of closeness.

The old cathedral is dedicated to St. Lambert, a former bishop of the region. The original structure dates from the fourth century. It is still an active worship space. There are signs of subsequent renovations over its many years. It could use some simplification – there were lots of statues and paintings over the side altars – but the heritage of the people has been well preserved.

After our tour of the old city, we looked for a place to grab something to eat. We stopped in a café near the bus stop, but the hour was after 6:30 and too late for anything but a cup of coffee. (The small caféPictures of Vences close about 7 p.m.) The owner did suggest a piece of the chocolate fondant cake to go with our coffee. We each enjoyed one – they were small. This got us back to Nice in good stead.

It’s been a lovely day, even without the sunshine, Dear Reader.