EVERYTHING WHAT YOU NEEDTO DREAM...
France >
Aix en Provence
KNOWLEDGE OF Aix en Provence
Coveted for its privileged position between Spain and Italy, Aix, city of water, has continued to sparkle throughout the centuries, maintaining both its elegant way of life and cultural treasures, untouched by conflicts and the large-scale industrialisation that threatened it. Spa town, University town, cultural town, judicial and economic centre, all of these labels fit Aix-en-Provence today.
At 370m above sea level, the fortified village of Entremont (known today as Oppidum d'Entremont, an archaeological site located 3kms north of Aix), was the capital town for a mixture of Celtic Salyens and native Ligurians in 123 BC. At this time it also commanded the intersection of Provence’s two principal roads: the Spain-Italy axis and the passage from the Mediterranean coast to the Alps.
After the siege, capture and destruction of this Celtic-Ligurian town, the Roman proconsul, Caïus Sextius Calvinus, founded "Aquae Sextiae Salluviorum" in 122 BC, thus christened because of the abundance of hot and cold water springs in the region.
Because of its privileged location between Italy and Spain, the city flourished both in urban development and as a spa town. Surrounding walls with colossal gates, theatres, amphitheatres and sumptuous villas were built, delicately outlining the city.
Having become the administrative capital of Narbonnaise Seconde around 275, (a province born from the division of a small province in the Alpes-Maritimes), an invasion in 474 by Germanic barbarians dealt it a fatal blow. There followed a long period of repression by various invaders: the Ostrogoths succeeding the Zisigoths, the Francs who came in 536, followed by the Lombards, the Saxons and the Saracens.
The town’s rebirth was thanks to the Count of Provence, Guillaume II -also known as the Liberator- who stopped the Saracen invaders from the East in 972. At this time Provence began to free itself from the distant rule of the Kingdom of Burgundy, in favour of the counts and marquises who were descendants of Guillaume II.
The city’s cultural influence continued to blossom under the reign of the Angevine princes (descendants of Guillaume II), Louis I d’Anjou, then Louis II, founder of the University, and the “Good King René in 1472. His court attracted artists and intellectuals from all over Europe, and the city became a centre of artistic creation and home to famous sculptors such as Guiramand and painters like Nicolas Froment. This famous Pygmalion witnessed the end of Provence’s independence, which became French in 1481, when Charles III, then Count of Provence, bequeathed it to King Louis XI. A governor, Palamède, representing the King of France, established himself in the heart of the city.
At 370m above sea level, the fortified village of Entremont (known today as Oppidum d'Entremont, an archaeological site located 3kms north of Aix), was the capital town for a mixture of Celtic Salyens and native Ligurians in 123 BC. At this time it also commanded the intersection of Provence’s two principal roads: the Spain-Italy axis and the passage from the Mediterranean coast to the Alps.
After the siege, capture and destruction of this Celtic-Ligurian town, the Roman proconsul, Caïus Sextius Calvinus, founded "Aquae Sextiae Salluviorum" in 122 BC, thus christened because of the abundance of hot and cold water springs in the region.
Because of its privileged location between Italy and Spain, the city flourished both in urban development and as a spa town. Surrounding walls with colossal gates, theatres, amphitheatres and sumptuous villas were built, delicately outlining the city.
Having become the administrative capital of Narbonnaise Seconde around 275, (a province born from the division of a small province in the Alpes-Maritimes), an invasion in 474 by Germanic barbarians dealt it a fatal blow. There followed a long period of repression by various invaders: the Ostrogoths succeeding the Zisigoths, the Francs who came in 536, followed by the Lombards, the Saxons and the Saracens.
The town’s rebirth was thanks to the Count of Provence, Guillaume II -also known as the Liberator- who stopped the Saracen invaders from the East in 972. At this time Provence began to free itself from the distant rule of the Kingdom of Burgundy, in favour of the counts and marquises who were descendants of Guillaume II.
The city’s cultural influence continued to blossom under the reign of the Angevine princes (descendants of Guillaume II), Louis I d’Anjou, then Louis II, founder of the University, and the “Good King René in 1472. His court attracted artists and intellectuals from all over Europe, and the city became a centre of artistic creation and home to famous sculptors such as Guiramand and painters like Nicolas Froment. This famous Pygmalion witnessed the end of Provence’s independence, which became French in 1481, when Charles III, then Count of Provence, bequeathed it to King Louis XI. A governor, Palamède, representing the King of France, established himself in the heart of the city.
Chapi