Curiosities of Aix en Provence !!!

Posted in Europe, France
We have driven in the area and would like to have an imprint in my blog on the wonderful towns of my belle France, There is so much to see , doing my best, and glad found me these older paper pictures which now transposing in my blog for you and me, The pictures are old ,so the quality may not be as good ,but the memories are forever, Therefore, here is my take on curiosities of Aix en Provence  !!! Hope you enjoy the post as I. The City of Aix-en-Provence is the historic capital of Provence, and now in dept no 13 of the Bouches-du-Rhône, in the region (PACA) Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur of my belle France. It is 30 km from Marseille , 80 km from Arles, 85 km from Avignon, 151 km from Cannes, 768 km from Versailles, and 1035 km from my house, It is served by the A7 and A51 highways (which took),as came visit from Marseille. The city of Aix-en-Provence has a remarkable architectural heritage in its historic center, in particular with regard to periods of the 17-18C. The city holds the city of art and history label. The Saint-Pierre cemetery houses the last home of many personalities from the art world: Paul Cézanne, Darius Milhaud, Auguste de Forbin, Joseph Villevieille, etc.; Letters: François-Auguste Mignet, Father Bremond, and local politics. Up cours Mirabeau is the older part of the old Aix with narrow or even steep, and non-rectilinear street, anarchic set of tracks, squares and fountains. Within this district, there is a street with the picturesque name of “rue Esquiche-Coude” in local language in French is “Rue Serre-Coude” or tight elbows, two passers-by are unable to cross it on their elbows. Down cours Mirabeau is the Mazarin neighborhood, the most recent part of the old Aix, an area furnished in the 17C, by the will of Michel Mazarin, brother of Cardinal Mazarin. This neighborhood is a homogeneous flat set, rectilinear tracks, with many mansions and fountains. The Vieil Aix (old Aix) presents itself around a network of tracks which surround it harmoniously, on the layout of the old ramparts, destroyed since the 19C of the cours Mirabeau leaves avenue Victor Hugo, then the boulevard du Roi-René, Boulevard Sadi-Carnot , Cours Saint-Louis, Boulevard Aristide-Briand, boulevard Jean-Jaurès, Cours Sextius and finally avenue Napoleon-Bonaparte which, by Place de la Rotonde (officially called Place du Général-de-Gaulle) where the Rotonde fountain stands, again leads to the Cours Mirabeau, A wonderful area for walks and architecture and history, sublime. Aix en Provence cours Mirabeau c2009 Many things to see here but in my road warrior mode missed a lot, should be back, anyway my favorites are : The Cathédrale Saint-Sauveur with a triptych of the burning bush (altarpiece of King René); altarpiece of the legend of Saint Miter (14C); Tapestries: Life of the Virgin and Jesus (end of the 15C). Saint-Sauveur cloister: late 12C. The Madeleine Church at Place des Préachers, the current church dates from the end of the 19C, Saint-Jean-de-Malte Church. not far from the Cours Mirabeau , the first Gothic church in Provence. Saint-Jean-Baptiste du Faubourg Church, Chapel of the Oblates., Preachers convent of Aix-en-Provence. 1655 and 1678, whose facade inspired by Italian palaces borders one of the sides of the Place de l’Hotel-de-Ville and its clock tower, crowned with a campanile, attract the eye when you penetrate In the historic center, the Hôtel de Castillon (18C, 21, Cours Mirabeau). The Rue de l’Opéra, which saw Paul Cézanne born, offers a plunging view of the main artery of the city and has three remarkable mansions, the Grimaldi Regusse (1680), the Hotel d’Arlatan (1684 ) and the hotel of Lestang-Parade (1650). On the other side of the street is the Théâtre du Jeu de Paume, which is one of the few Italian theater in France. Nearby is the baroque silver fountain. The Saint-Pons bridge or the Trois-Sautets bridge. Not far from this bridge, we can notice the old infirmaries built between 1564 and 1671. They now house a hotel. Aix en Provence place de l'hôtel de ville tour de l'horloge 16C next HdV c2009 Aix en Provence hôtel de ville cour c2009 And more to see such as the Granet Museum, located against the Saint-Jean-de-Malte Church, the building that shelters it was built in 1671, the priory being transformed into a museum in 1838. The museum has an annex located in the chapel of the White Penitents A few streets from the main building.François Marius Granet bequeaths an important collection of paintings and the establishment takes the name of its donor in 1949. The Museum of Tapestries consists of a vast collection from the old archbishopric. There are tapestries executed in Beauvais in the 17-18C, some of which were made according to Bérain, as well as a series of nine panels of the life of Don Quixote, and four other panels executed according to Leprince. The Vieil-Aix Museum at Rue Gaston-de-Saporta has existed since 1933, located in the Hôtel d’Estienne-de-Saint-Jean. It has the collections of costumes, earthenware, puppets, reconstructing life in Aix-en-Provence under the old regime (monarchy), as well as in the 19C. The Paul-Arbaud Museum, meanwhile, is the seat of ‘Academy of Sciences, Agriculture, Arts and Belles-Lettres d’Aix-en-Provence. It offers a collection of 18C Provencal earthenware and portraits of the Mirabeau family but also hosts a library of 1,600 documents and an important private archive fund. A bit of history tell us the site was founded in 122 BC under the name of Aquae Sextiae by the Roman consul Caius Sextius Calvinus, Aix later becomes the capital of the county of Provence. As such, the installation of King René, Duke of Anjou, Count of Provence, holder of Sicily, in the 15C, marks the golden age of the city, which will forever retain the title of “Cité du King René ” or City of king René. A thermal city from antiquity, Aix-en-Provence has an important cultural heritage (architecture, Granet museum, Lyric art festival, Grand Théâtre de Provence, etc.) and is asserted as an important tourist center and as an essential cultural center around Mediterranean in France. City of water, it is nicknamed the “City of a Hundred Fontaines” or even “La Copenhague du Midi” by Marcel Pagnol (French Writer, Playwright, Filmmaker and Producer), Aix-en-Provence is the city where Frédéric Mistral His law studies, Paul Cézanne spent his life and Émile Zola his first eighteen years. It was at Bourbon College (current Mignet college) that the deep friendship that united them. From 1486, a governor resided there to represent the Count of Provence which was, simultaneously, king of France. The Union of Provence to France was underway, but it remained until 1789 an independent state associated with France, In 1501, Louis XII established the Parliament of Provence which continues until the French revolution. The historic language of Aix is ​​the Provençal, which was gradually replaced by French from the total integration of Provence into France in 1789 and the authoritarian francization of the Provencal population during the 19-20C. The City of Aix en Provence on its heritage : https://www.aixenprovence.fr/Tourisme The Aix en Provence tourist office on its heritage : https://www.aixenprovencetourism.com/en/aix-en-provence-en/culture-heritage/ The Marseille tourist office on Aix en Provence (good info) : https://www.marseille-tourisme.com/en/discover-marseille/around-marseille/aix-en-provence/ There you go folks, a dandy area to explore and enjoy with the family, Memorable moments in my belle France, driving all over in my road warrior trails brings out sublime awesome spots with nice memorable family visits of yesteryear always remember and always looking forward to be back, eventually. Again hope you enjoy the post on curiosities of Aix en Provence as I. And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!
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Published by pedmar10

I am a lover of travels to Europe , Americas , Africa and Asia as well ,who like to share my experiences of the last 53 years with the world, visiting so far 81 countries; living in 6, working in 5, and Citizen of 4, speaking fluently 4 languages. I can deal with sports especially football/soccer and love music, arts, wine collector/drinker, and go out to restaurants, and just visit the world. My background comes all the way from Candelaria and Pajara in Tenerife, Spain where my grandparents came from ;not knowing each other then, to Punta Brava, west of Havana, Cuba. There , my parents born in Cuba met and later on I was born there too. 100% guanche (annexed Tenerife to Spain on April 10 ,1496). I left Cuba as many have to Madrid, Spain where I lived for 4 years. Then, move to Perth Amboy ,New Jersey USA (living there 13 yrs) ; where I completed high school, became a US Citizen, learned to drive a car, and learned English. Afterward, went to the university in Florida, ERAU, and upon graduation decided to moved there to Ormond by the Sea, near Daytona Beach, finally moving North Miami, then Hialeah, then another moved to Silver Lakes division in Miramar, Broward county, Florida; in Florida I lived a total of 18 years. Finally , moved to France in 2003 ,Versailles call me for its royalty, and working in Paris was great. It was time to seek frontiers again and moved to Brech near Auray, Morbihan in Brittany , and later move to not too far Pluvigner. Total so far in France has been 20 years, and counting. Moving average a home every 5.5 years hopefully this will be my last. Cheers All rights reserved. No part of this blog may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means or stored in a retrieval system of any nature, without the written permission of the copyright holder, me. No part of this work may be modified, without the written permission of the holder, me.No part of this work may be exposed to public view in any form or by any means, without identifying the holder as the author, and with the before mentioned permission.

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