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AIX-EN-PROVENCE
- FRANCE
Aix (prounounced "eks"), 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.
The painter Paul Cezanne was born in Aix, and lived and painted there as
an adult.
History
Aix (Aquae Sextiae) was founded in 123 BCE by the Roman consul Sextius
Calvinus, who gave his name to its springs. In 102 BCE its neighbourhood
was the scene of the defeat inflicted on the Cimbri and Teutones by Marius.
In the 4th century CE it became the metropolis of Narbonensis Secunda. It
was occupied by the Visigoths in 477. In the succeeding century 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.
Highlights
The Cours Mirabeau, a wide thoroughfare, planted with double rows of plane-trees,
bordered by fine houses and decorated by three fountains, divides the town
into two portions. The new town extends to the south, 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.
Aix is an important educational centre, being the seat of the faculties of
law and letters of the university of Aix-Marseille, and the north and east
quarter of the town, where the schools and university buildings are situated,
is comparable to the Latin Quarter of Paris.
The cathedral of 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 and other works of art. The archbishop's palace and a
Romanesque cloister adjoin the cathedral on its south side. The church of
Saint-Jean-de-Malto, dating from the 13th century, contains some valuable
pictures.
The Hotel de Ville, a building in the classical style of the middle of the
17th century, looks on to a picturesque square. 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. Aix possesses many
beautiful fountains, one of which in the Cours Mirabeau is surmounted by a
statue of René, count of Provence, who held a brilliant court at Aix in the
15th century. Aix has thermal springs, remarkable for their heat and
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. It also has training-colleges,
a lycée, a school of art and technics, museums of antiquities, natural
history and painting, and several learned societies.
Economy
The industries include flour-milling, the manufacture of confectionery, iron-ware
and hats, and the distillation of olive-oil. Trade is in olive-oil, almonds
and stone from the neighbouring quarries.
Miscellaneous
Aix en Provence was the birthplace of:
Eleanor of Provence (died 1291), queen consort of King Henry III of England
Paul Cézanne (1839-1906), painter
Aix hosted the ninth Congres Internationaux d'Architecture Moderne in 1953 .
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