The Chapel of ‘Notre-Dame des Selves’

The name "Selves" derives from the latin "De Silvae" (forests) and is explained by the fact that the two banks of the river Var used to be covered by trees.Archaeological surveys carried out in 1996 indicate that the site was inhabited during Roman Antiquity.The Chapel of ‘Notre-Dame des Selves’ is the oldest religious centre of the Alpes-Maritimes region, and testimony to the first parochial network in the area.After several conversions, the Chapel took its current form at the end of the 17th century. It consists of a nave which dates back to the year 1500 and of three bays with cross-ribbed vaulting. The choir was built in 1635. The cornerstone of the second bay of ribbed vaults carries the coat of arms, in the form of two fishes, of the Glandevès family (co-Lords of Carros).

Carmel Monastery

The colours of the coat of arms are brown for the mountain and earth-colour and white for the sky and reflection of light. These are the same colours as the Carmelite habit and cloak, worn by both the friars and the nuns.

The Carmel Monastery is placed under the patronage of St. Joseph and St. Theresa of the Child Jesus.

History of the Carmelite Order:1620 - Foundation of the Carmel of Narbonne1794 - Dispersion of Carmelite sisters after the French Revolution1866 - Restoration of the Carmel of Narbonne1901 - Exile of the Carmelite Order to Spain1920 - Return to Narbonne1935 - Relocation to the Chapel of Grasse1970 - Relocation to Carros after the building of the Carmel Monastery1971 - Consecration of the Chapel

Church of ‘Notre-Dame de Cola’

The decayed edifice known as the "steeple tower" is the last remains of the 11th century Church of ‘Notre-Dame de Cola’.The building consists of a nave with a vestibule and a steeple tower built during the height of the Middle Ages. Towards the end of the 11th century it became a place of worship. The parish church was dedicated to the Holy Virgin under the name of ‘Notre-Dame de Cola’.After being abandoned, the church was demolished between the 17th and 18th centuries. In 1673, a new church was built around the stately castle and became the new seat of the Carros parish (St. Claude’s Church).During Roman Antiquity, the site of the cemetry was occupied by a villa-type building. From its occupation as both a habitation and a burial ground, there remains part of a wall and architectural features, as well as salvaged burial components.

Carmel Monastery Churchof ‘Notre-Dame

de Cola’

St. Claude’s Church

St. Claude’s Church was built in the 17th century, and the lower part of the steeple was in fact the chapel of the 12th century castle.The transition to the current parish, close to the castle, was the result of several requests from the community of Carros. In 1613, it was first suggested to the Bishop Pierre Duvair that the church be relocated "given the very large distance between the church and the town and the inconvenience to the population". Finally, it was only in 1673 that the Bishop Louis de Thomassin authorised that the 11th century parish of Notre-Dame de Cola be moved to St. Claude’s Church.St. Claude’s Church, dedicated to the Holy Virgin, is primarily the home to six reliquaries which have been classified as "historical monuments" and which were donated by Pierre de Blacas, the Lord of Carros and Commander of the Order of Malta, to the parish of Carros in around 1667.St. Claude’s Church is the home to other "treasures" also classified as "historical monuments".

St. Claude’s Churchand its treasures Carros,

discoverits religious heritage

Chapel of ‘Notre-Dame

des Selves’

St. Blaise’s Reliquary

The gold-plated bronze case rests on an oval base and is topped by an open dome, at the top of which can be found a small cross, which used to contain a relic of St. Blaise. On one side can be read JESUS, and on the other MARIA. The reliquary was used in the past to exhibit the Blessed Sacrament.

St. BlaiseSt. Blaise was of Armenian origin and the Bishop of Sivas. In 316, Agricola, the governor of Cappadoce, arrived in Sivas on the orders of the Emperor Licinius to murder Christians, and had the Bishop arrested. While in prison, he healed other prisoners with disabilities. However, the governor, unable to force Blaise to give up his faith, had him beaten, had his skin ripped with iron combs, and had him beheaded in the year 316. St. Blaise is the patron saint of carders, combers and stone carvers.

Reliquary Bust of St Colombe

St. Victoire’s Shrine

St. John the Baptist Reliquary Cross

Gilded cross

and Reliquary of the True CrossLarge Reliquary Cross

St. Victoire’s shrine is an urn made in a mausoleum, in carved and gilded wood, enclosing a tibia bone and surrounded by angel heads appearing from a cloud, combined with angels in different postures, decorated

with a Malta cross, whose centrepiece is a crest of the Lordship of Blacas, a 16-ray comet.St. VictoireSt. Victoire was a virgin martyr who had freed the town of Tribula from the presence of a dragon in exchange for the residents’conversion to the Christian religion. After building an oratory for young virgins in Tribula, in the year 253, she was killed by Taliarcus, a subordinate of Julien, the Pontiff of Capitole, for refusing to worship Diane.

The reliquary bust is made of golden painted wood and represents the crowned Saint. The foundation consists of a relic, which is part of an arm bone placed on a silk cushion, with the written certification of the Bishop of Porfire, in the absence of the Pope, and donated in Rome on 25 November 1683.

St. Colombe of CordobaSt. Colombe was a young woman who lived at the time of the Moorish occupation under Mohammed the First. She would devote herself to three or four hours of continual prayer. Arabic persecution forced her family to retreat to Cordoba, situated close to the Saint-Cyprien Basilica. One day, no longer able to remain in hiding, she went out, publi-cly professed her faith and praised Christ. She was immedia-tely beheaded in front of the palace on 17 September 853. Her body was thrown into the Guadalquivir river, where it was discovered six days later and transferred to the Basilica of St. Eulalie, in the village of Fragelles, near to Cordoba.

The gilded cross takes the form of a fleur-de-lis and is decorated in plas-ter at the top. The fleur-de-lis named "Louis XIV" is supported by a base plate. The medallion on the base plate contains a fragment of the True Cross, which is glued to a small strip of black tissue. The cross is decorated with the coat of arms of the Blacas family: a six-

teen-branched star. This gilded cross was donated by the Pope Clement XI (1700-1721) to the great Master of Lascaris of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, who would in turn donate it to Pierre of Blacas, the Commander of the Order of Malta.

The St. John the Baptist Reliquary Cross is made of carved, gilded wood, with an iron handle on the rear, designed to allow it to be more easily presented to its worshipers for their devotion. It is baluster shaped, with the Cross of Malta at the top decorated with fleurs-de-lis and enclosed by a crown also in the form of fleur-de-

lis. The base takes the form of a console with three sides, one showing the paschal lamb holding the cross decorated with a banner (“Agneau vexillifère” in French), which is a symbol of the Resurrection. The two other sides are decorated with a metal medaillion in the form of the coat of arms of the Bishop Pisani de La Gaude - Bishop of Vence (1784-1801).

St. John the BaptistSt. John the Baptist is considered as the most recent Prophet. He announced the coming of the Messiah and preceded it. He was beheaded in around year 28 on the orders of Salome, daughter of Herod. He is the patron saint of prisoners and those sentenced to death.

St. Claude’s �ltar

and Reliquary Bust

The altar and its lateral extensions are made of carved, varnished wood. The base is in the form of a tabernacle with a picture of the paschal lamb, which is a reminder of Christ’s sacrifice, and the lamb is carrying a banner, which symbolises his resurrection.The date of 1755 is visible beneath

and from place to place on the tabernacle.The bust is made of carved, varnished and painted wood. St. Claude is represented in the form of a Bishop, with a crook in his left hand and blessing with his right hand. On each side of the bust, two "torch-bearing" cherubs in carved, varnished wood have been nailed on.The relic consists of one of St. Claude’s bones and an authenticity certificate issued by the Pope and bearing his seal.

St. ClaudeSt. Claude, Archbishop of Besançon in around the year 682, resigned and retired to the Benedictine Monastery of Saint-Oyand-de-Joux, where he would die in around the year 696.He is most famously known as the patron saint of the ‘Franche-Comté’ region. Several guilds look to St. Claude for protection, including the guilds of tanners, saddlers and turners."Claude" was a common first name in the Blacas family (the Lords of Carros), notably for Claude de Blacas (who died in 1669). There is a particular devotion to St. Claude in Carros, whose church is also named after him.The feast of St. Claude is celebrated in Carros every 6 June.

The large Reliquary Cross is made of gilded, carved wood, hollow and enclosed by glass slides. The hollow parts are separated into cubicles by small, gilded glass slides. Inside each cubicle, there is part of a relic (41 in total), including the reed of Christ, the thorn from his crown, and

fragments of relics from many different Saints.The authentic emblem used on the seal is reminiscent of the Archbishop of Fréjus, who was the Bishop of Nice in 1860.

Carros Tourist OfficeVilla Barbary - 2 carriero Fernand Barbary06510 Carros village0033 (0)4 93 08 72 59www.carros-tourisme.com

October - April: from Tuesday to Saturday 10:00-12:30 / 14:00-17:30.

May, June, September:from Tuesday to Saturday 10:00-12:30 / 14:00-18:00.

July, August:from Tuesday to Saturday 10:00-12:30 / 14:00-18:30.

Closed on certain bank holidays.

Guided visit of the old village available uponreservation with the tourist office

Enjoy your stay in Carros

15

terre de patrimoinea site of cultural heritage

Mercantour national park

From Cannes A8 - Exit 51,1

Carros – Digne

From Menton A8 - Exit 52

Nice Saint-Isidore

minsfromNice