Aix-en-Provence

Aix (IPA: /ɛks/), or, to distinguish it from other cities built over hot springs, Aix-en-Provence is a city in southern France, some 30 km north of Marseille. It is located in the Provence region, in the Bouches-du-Rhône département, of which it is a sous-préfecture. Population is approximately 130,000.

History

Aix (Aquae Sextiae) was founded in 123 BC by the Roman consul Sextius Calvinus, who gave his name to its springs. In 102 BC its neighbourhood was the scene of the Battle of Aquae Sextiae when Romans under Gaius Marius defeated the Cimbri and Teutones, with mass suicides among the captured women, which passed into Roman legends of Germanic heroism (cf Jerome, letter cxxiii.8, 409 A.D. [1]).

In the 4th century AD it became the metropolis of Narbonensis Secunda. It was occupied by the Visigoths in 477. In the succeeding century, the town was repeatedly plundered by the Franks and Lombards, and was occupied by the Saracens in 731. Aix, which during the middle ages was the capital of the county of Provence, did not reach its zenith until after the 12th century, when, under the houses of Aragon and Anjou, it became an artistic centre and seat of learning.

With the rest of Provence, it passed to the crown of France in 1487, and in 1501 Louis XII established there the parliament of Provence which existed until 1789. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the town was the seat of the intendance of Provence.

Geography

Aix-en-Provence is situated in a plain overlooking the Arc, about a mile from the right bank of the river. The city slopes gently from North to South and the Montagne Sainte Victoire can easily be seen to the east.

Highlights

The Cours Mirabeau, a wide thoroughfare, planted with double rows of plane-trees, bordered by fine houses and decorated by fountains, divides the town into two portions. It follows the line of the old city wall. The new town extends to the south and west, the old town with its wide but irregular streets and its old mansions dating from the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries lies to the north.

The cathedral of Saint-Sauveur (Cathédrale Saint Sauveur), which dates from the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries, is situated in this portion of Aix. It is preceded by a rich portal in the Gothic style with elaborately carved doors, and is flanked on the north by an uncompleted tower. The interior contains tapestry of the 16th century, other works of art and a baptism pool from the fourth century. The archbishop's palace (Palais de l'Archêveque) and a Romanesque cloister adjoin the cathedral on its south side. The church of Saint-Jean-de-Malte, just south of the Cours Mirabeau dating from the 13th century, contains some valuable pictures and the Musée Granet, which has recently undergone restoration.

The Hôtel de Ville, a building in the classical style of the middle of the 17th century, looks on to a picturesque square (Place de la Mairie). It contains some fine woodwork and a large library which includes many valuable manuscripts. At its side rises a handsome clock-tower erected in 1505.

Also on the Place de la Mairie is the former Corn Exchange (Halle de Grains). This 18th century building is ornately decorated and was designed by the Vallon architects.

Aix has thermal springs, remarkable for their heat as well as for containing lime and carbonic acid. The bathing establishment was built in 1705 near the site of the ancient baths of Sextius, of which vestiges still remain.

The town, which is the seat of an archbishop and court of appeal, and the centre of an académie (educational circumscription), numbers among its public institutions a Court of assizes, tribunals of first instance and of commerce, and a chamber of arts and manufactures.

Aix is often referred to as the city of a thousand fountains. Among the more notable are the Fontaine des Quatre Dauphins (Fountain of the Four Dolphins), built in 1667 by Jean-Claude Rambot; Le bon Roi René's Fountain, built in the 19th century, surmounted by a statue of Roi René holding a bunch of Muscat grapes, which he introduced into Provence in the 15th century; the hot-water fountain dating back to 1734, which is covered in moss due to the 35°C (93°F) water; and the great fountain, from 1860, at La Rotonde, the large roundabout at the centre of town.

Education

Aix is an important educational centre, hosting various faculties from:

• the universities of Aix-Marseille I, II and III
• Institut d'études politiques d'Aix-en-Provence (IEP), an Institute of Political Studies
• a military academy
• École Nationale Supérieure d'Arts et Métiers
• Institut d'Etudes Françaises pour Etudiants Etrangers (IEFEE), a language school for foreign students of all levels of French proficiency

Aix also has training-colleges, a lycée, and a school of art and technics. There are several cités U in the city, which provide cheap accommodation for students, but sometimes lack even basic facilities.

Museums

Aix contains several museums and galleries:

• Le Musée du Vieil Aix (Museum of Old Aix), which tells of the history and growth of the city.
• Le Museum d'Histoire Naturelle
• Le Musée de Tapisseries (Tapestry Musuem), housed in the Archbishop's Palace.
• Le Musée Paul Arbaud (Faïence/Pottery)
• Le Musée Granet, next to the Church of Saint John of Malta.
• Le Pavillon de Vendôme, a 17th century mansion housing permanent and touring art exhibitions.
• La Fondation Vasarely, museum dedicated to the Hungarian-born French Abstract Painter

Economy

Industries formerly included flour-milling, the manufacture of confectionery, iron-ware, hats, matches and the extraction of olive oil.

Current industries include:

• Tourism
• Semiconductor and Electronic Industry in Rousset
• Development services (computer science)
• Provence Crafts
• Universities
• still, distillation of olive-oil
• manufacture of the famous calissons, sweets made of almond paste flavoured with confit melon and orange.
• wine-making. The local Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée is Coteaux d'Aix-en-Provence AOC.

Miscellaneous

Aix hosted the ninth Congrès International d'Architecture Moderne in 1953.

Births

Aix-en-Provence was the birthplace of:

• Eleanor of Provence (died 1291), queen consort of King Henry III of England
• André Campra 1660-1744, composer and conductor
• François Marius Granet (1775-1849), painter
• Paul Cézanne (1839-1906), painter who lived and painted there
• Maurice Rouvier (1842-1911), politician
• Darius Milhaud (1892-1984), composer and teacher
• Émile Zola (1840-1902), novelist born in Paris but spent childhood in Aix

Twin towns

Aix-en-Provence is twinned with:

• Bath, United Kingdom
• Carthage, Tunisia
• Coimbra, Portugal
• Grenada, Spain
• Perugia, Italy
• Tübingen, Germany
• Ashkelon, Israel
• Philadelphia, United States

This article is licenced under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Aix-en-Provence".

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