Monaco Cathedral

The church of Sainte-Dévote was built as a chapel before 1070 near a cave in the Gaumates Valley, where, according to tradition, the body of Sainte Dévote, patron saint of Monaco, was buried. The chapel has undergone successive restorations and enlargements, notably in 1476, 1606, 1637 and 1870. The present church was built under Prince Charles III (1856-1889) and was inaugurated on 25 January 1871.

This church was built to replace the previous one which fell into disrepair between 1764 and 1778 by the Italian architect Antoine Spinelli at the request of Duke Charles-Emmanuel III of Savoy. The neo-classical church has a rich interior decor, which the you can see as soon as you enter the baroque nave.

The Basilica of St. Michael the Archangel was commissioned by Prince Honoré II of Monaco and built by the architect Lorenzo Lavagna at the beginning of the 17th century. The church was not opened for worship until 1653. In 1701, the architect Emmanuel Cantone erected a fifty-three-metre high bell tower on the west side, locally known as the "campanin", a veritable watchtower overlooking the city. The present façade was completed in 1819 in the spirit of the 17th-century Baroque style.