History of Aix-en-Provence

Aix-en-Provence is the historical capital of the Provence.

Antiquity

Aquæ Sextiæ

With, Low-Provence was occupied by the tribe celto-Ligurian of the Salyens or Salluviens, whose capital, the oppidum known as of Entremont, was located at the north of Aix, close to the village of Puyricard. In 123 before J. - C., following the call using the Greeks of Massalia (Marseilles), the consul Sextius took and destroyed this city-oppidum. It installed there thereafter, close to the thermal springs, a fortified camp called Aquæ Sextiæ (“water of Sextius”) in order to ensure the safety of commercial transport between Rome and the city phocéenne of Massalia.

In 102 before J. - C., at the time of the Battle of Aquae Sextiae, Gaius Marius holds head, with the foot of the mountain called later Holy-Victoire, with the hordes of Ambrons and Teutons which it demolished. Those, come from the Baltic , went in Italy. The women captured then preferred to commit suicide rather than to become slaves. The local tradition also tells that the chiefs teutons, once captured, were precipitated in the pit of the Garagaï, at the top of the Montagne Holy-Victoire.

Catholic Aix

Since Christian times, Aix has its archbishop (Archbishop's palace of Aix and Arles).

The Middle Ages

At the 4th century, Aix became the capital of the Narbonensis Secunda. It was then occupied by the Visigoths in 477. At the next century, it was invaded in turn by the Francs and the Lombards, then in 731 by the Sarrasin S.

Aix and “good king Rene”

Aix found its splendor only as from the 12th century, where the counts of Provence (houses of Anjou and Aragon) hold a refined court and well-read woman to with it, and at the 15th century under the good king Rene, Duc of Anjou, Count de Provence, titular king of Sicily, the city takes all his rise. King Rene, lit spirit, transform the city into a famous arts center and academic (1409). It organizes popular holidays like the procession of the Tarasque, with Tarascon or the Corpus Christi in Aix which lasted several days and gathered hundreds of troubadours. It is also at the origin of the importation of the grape muscatel. He marries Isabelle of Lorraine, then Jeanne of Laval, and at 72 years, dies in Aix in 1480.

In its Chronic , celebrates it chronicler Jean de Joinville speaks about Aix-en-Provence in connection with a visit of Saint-Louis: “Li roys was come by told from the Provence jusques ones to a city which one calls Ays in Provence, where one disoit that Li horns in Magdeleinne gisoit; and smoke in a high vault of rocks must, where one disoit that Magdeleinne avoit esté in hermitaige seventeen years. ”

Modern time

Aix the Frenchwoman

Starting from 1486 and the fastening of Provence in France, the governor resides at it. In 1501, Louis XII establishes there the Parlement of Provence which will perdura until the Révolution. Generally, the States met there to vote the tax. This Parliament was if not very popular that a saying appeared: “Parliament, mistral and Durance is the three plagues of Provence”.

In 1545, it is the president of the Parliament of Aix, Oppède, supported by the cardinal of Tournon, which organizes the massacre of the Vaudois of Luberon.

Wars of religion

Charles IX passes in the city at the time of royal sound Tour de France (1564 - 1566), accompanied by the Cour and Large by the kingdom: his/her brother the duke of Anjou, Henri de Navarre, cardinal of Bourbon and Lorraine. The city is then revolts some against the governor of Provence, the count of Tende, too tolerant with the Protestants, this one indeed was the husband of Francoise de Foix, lord of Marignane, it even huguenote. It is accommodated by the Court of Auditors; the king makes cut down the pine of Eguilles, where the catholics had hung many Protestants the previous years.

In October 1590, the duke of Savoy is made appoint count de Provence by the Ligue and takes the city.

In 1630, whereas the city is in prey with an episode of Peste, the cardinal Richelieu decides to deprive the States of Provence of the collection and the tax allocation, transferred to the royal capacity. An insurrection, called the Revolt of Cascaveous, makes fold the cardinal.

Louis XIV remained several times at Aix: he played in particular Jeu de Paume transformed with 18th into a theater with Italian of the same name; it is in Aix that the Sun king signed peace with the Prince of Condé… When he slept in the private mansion of Châteaurenard, he was dazzled by a trompe-l'oeil painting of Jean Daret (Flemish painter): he appointed this one painter of the King at the Court of Versailles.

Aix at the time of the French revolution

Aix is also the city of the famous deputy of the State Third: Honore Gabriel Riqueti de Mirabeau.

Contemporary time

XIXe century: the city of the painters

Aix in Provence is of course the city which saw being born and dying Paul Cézanne (1839-1906). It is with the Bourbon college of Aix that was born the deep friendship between Cézanne and Emile Zola.

1909 and wounds of the ground

June 11th, 1909, several villages in the north of Aix are struck by a seism of which the magnitude is estimated at 6,2 on the open scales of Richter: it causes the death of 46 people and many damage.

Aix in XXIe century

Aix is today a city which mingles last history and technological future in particular with the project ITER with Cadarache (community of the Country of Aix), the station TGV, the technopolises of the Alpine laburnum and Rousset… Aix counts many universities (Lettres, Droit, Économie, Science Po, Arts and Métiers, Beautiful arts….)

Aix celebrated with dignity the centenary of died of Paul Cézanne with in particular the international exhibition to the Musée Granet: " Cézanne in Provence" from June 9th to September 17th, 2006 which gathered nearly 120 works of the Master on the topic of his " dear Provence". You can as to visit workshop of Lauves (workshop as Cézanne made build a few years before its death), the Carrières of Bibémus where it went " to paint on the motif" and the Jas de Bouffan (the family home).

By visiting the center town, you will be able to also walk " on the steps of Zola " : the writer took as a starting point Aix to describe celebrates it town of Plassans in the Rougon-Macquart.

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