THE IMPERIAL CHAPEL OR PALATINE CHAPEL
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A neoclassical chapel housing a collection of paintings and imperial family tombs.
Until 1859, the crypt of Ajaccio cathedral was used as a burial place for members of the Bonaparte family. But for his part, Cardinal Fesch, Napoleon Bonaparte's uncle, had wished the construction of this imperial chapel - also known as the Palatine Chapel - in order to be buried there alongside his sister Letizia, Napoleon I's mother, and all members of the Bonaparte family who wished to be buried there. He died in 1839, and his last wishes were not carried out until some twenty years later, in 1857, by Napoleon III, who had the building constructed in the space of two years. It now rests in this neoclassical-style building built in Saint-Florent stone and established in the right wing of the Fesch Palace, where the collection of French, Spanish, Flemish, German, Dutch and Italian paintings from all the schools that the cardinal had gathered together is on display. The circular crypt also houses the tombs of several members of the imperial family, including the emperor's father, Charles Bonaparte, and his mother. But the imperial chapel, designed by Alexis Paccard - the architect of the châteaux of Rambouillet and Fontainebleau - will attract attention for the quality of its ornamental paintings - works by Jérôme Maglioli - and its stained glass windows. One will also see an Ankh cross, located above the altar, brought back by Napoleon from his Egyptian campaign. A must-see therefore.
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On doit son édification à Napoléon III qui honora les clauses testamentaires du cardinal Fesch dont le voeu était de rassembler dans un unique lieu saint les sépultures de la famille Bonaparte.
Elle fut érigée sous le second Empire entre 1857 et 1859 en pierre calcaire de Saint-Florent, sur les plans d'Alexis Paccard, architecte de la Couronne. Jérôme Maglioli, architecte communal et peintre-décorateur ajaccien, orna les voûtes de grisailles et de trompe-l'œil. L'intérieur, en forme de croix latine, est surmonté d'une coupole. La crypte abrite les tombeaux du cardinal Fesch, de Charles et de Laetitia Bonaparte, parents de Napoléon, et ceux d'autres membres de la famille impériale.