Most of old Antibes consists of houses that have been modified many times. Beneath an apparently 18th century building, modernised by some Scandinavian second-homer, you can discern elements of a late medieval house. Walls, like palimpsests, carry the traces of previous windows, often of completely different dimensions, and at heights which indicate that even the internal floors have been changed at least twice.
Some of this tinkering is hidden by the ever-present plasterwork, but often neglect or shoddiness, or more recently a genuine desire to highlight ancient features, means that the pentimento shows through.
Amongst the buildings which have recently been done up is the Chapelle Saint-Bernardin, from the early 16th century, in a narrow street near us. The facade is gothic, despite the date, but what is more interesting is that the restorers have made visible the sculptures over the door. The chapel belonged to the confraternity of the Pénitents Blancs, a lay catholic self-help society whose principal purpose was to bury the dead. The sculptures show the penitents in their grisly uniforms, waiting to cart you off to the cemetery.
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