 The first church on the site was built in the early 13th century on land belonging to the Abbey of St Pons and became a parish church in 1246.Population growth led to extensions being built onto the church between 1455 and 1468.During the first half of the 16th century, a series of acts gradually effected the transfer of the seat of the bishops of Nice from Cimiez Cathedral, which sits on the hill of the castle overlooking the city, to the church of St Reparata in 1590.