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Aix-en-Provence
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Aix or Aix-en-Provence (Provençal Occitan: Ais de Provença in classical norm or Ais de Prouvènço in Mistralian norm), to distinguish it from other cities built over hot springs, is a city in southern France, some north of Marseille. It is in the region of Provence, in the department of Bouches-du-Rhône, of which it is a sub-prefecture. The population of Aix is approximately 140,200. Its inhabitants are called Aixois.
For the ecclesiastical history, see Archdiocese of Aix
Aix (Aquae Sextiae) was founded in 123 BC by the Roman consul Sextius Calvinus, who gave his name to its springs.
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Aix or Aix-en-Provence (Provençal Occitan: Ais de Provença in classical norm or Ais de Prouvènço in Mistralian norm), to distinguish it from other cities built over hot springs, is a city in southern France, some north of Marseille. It is in the region of Provence, in the department of Bouches-du-Rhône, of which it is a sub-prefecture. The population of Aix is approximately 140,200. Its inhabitants are called Aixois.
History
- For the ecclesiastical history, see Archdiocese of Aix
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.
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 and by Charles Martel in 737. Aix, which during the Middle Ages was the capital 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.
Aix passed to the crown of France with the rest of Provence 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.
Current archeological excavations in the Ville des Tours, a medieval suburb of Aix, have unearthed the remains of a roman amphitheatre.
Geography and climate
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. Aix's position in the south of France gives it a warm climate. It has an average January temperature of 5°C and a July average of 22°C. It has an average of 300 days of sunshine and only 91 days of rain. While it is partially protected from the Mistral, Aix does occasionally suffer from the cold gusty conditions it brings.
Unlike most of France which has an oceanic climate, Aix-en-Provence has a Mediterranean climate.
Main sights
The Cours Mirabeau is a wide thoroughfare, planted with double rows of plane-trees, bordered by fine houses and decorated by fountains. It follows the line of the old city wall and divides the town into two sections. 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. Along this avenue, which is lined on one side with banks and on the other with cafés, is the Deux Garçons, the most famous brasserie in Aix. Built in 1792, it has been frequented by the likes of Cézanne, Zola and Hemingway.
The Cathedral of the Holy Saviour (Cathédrale Saint Sauveur) is situated to the north in the medieval part of Aix. Built on the site of a former Roman forum and an adjacent basilica, it contains a mixture of all styles from the 5th to the 17th century, including a richly decorated portal in the Gothic style with doors elaborately carved in walnut. The interior contains 16th century tapestries, a 15th century triptych, depicting King René and his wife on the side panels, as well as a Merovingian baptistery, its Renaissance dome supported by original Roman columns. The archbishop's palace (Palais de l'Archêveché) and a Romanesque cloister adjoin the cathedral on its south side. The Archbishopric of Aix is now shared with Arles.
Among its other public institutions, Aix also has the second most important Appeal Court (Palais de Justice) outside Paris, located near the site of the former Palace of the Counts (Palais des Comtes) of Provence.
The Hôtel de Ville, a building in the classical style of the middle of the 17th century, looks onto a picturesque square (place de l'Hôtel de Ville). It contains some fine woodwork and tapestries. At its side rises a handsome clock-tower erected in 1510.
Also on the Place de l'Hôtel de Ville is the former Corn Exchange (1759-1761) (Halle de Grains). This ornately decorated 18th century building was designed by the Vallon brothers. Nearby are the remarkable thermal springs, containing lime and carbonic acid, that first drew the Romans to Aix and gave it the name Aquae Sextiae. A spa was built in 1705 near the remains of the ancient Roman baths of Sextius.
South of the Cours Mirabeau is the Quartier Mazarin. This residential district was constructed for the gentry of Aix by the brother of Cardinal Mazarin in the last half of the seventeenth century and contains several notable hôtels particuliers. The 13th century church of Saint-Jean-de-Malte contains valuable pictures and a recently restored organ. Next to it is the Musée Granet containing some works of Cézanne
Aix is often referred to as the city of a thousand fountains. Among the most notable are the seventeenth century Fontaine des Quatre Dauphins (Fountain of the Four Dolphins) in the Quartier Mazarin, designed by Jean-Claude Rambot, and three of the fountains down the central Cours Mirabeau: At the top, a nineteenth century fountain depicts the "good king" René holding the Muscat grapes that he introduced to Provence in the fifteenth century; half-way down is a natural hot water fountain (34°C), covered in moss, dating back to the Romans; and at the bottom at la Rotonde, the hub of modern Aix, stands a monumental fountain from 1860 beneath three giant statues representing art, justice and agriculture. In the older part of Aix, there are also fountains of note in the Place d'Albertas and the Place des Trois-Ormeaux.
Education
Aix has long been a university town: Louis II of Anjou granted a royal charter for a university in 1409. Today Aix remains an important educational centre, with many teaching and research institutes:
- Université de Provence Aix-Marseille I, specialising in the humanities in Aix.
- Université de la Méditerranée Aix-Marseille II
- Université Paul Cézanne Aix-Marseille III, specialising principally in law, economics, political science and administration in Aix.
- Institut d'études politiques d'Aix-en-Provence (IEP), an Institute of Political Studies
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- Institut de l'Aménagement Régional, an institute in the Université Paul Cézanne for town and country planning.
- École Nationale Supérieure d'Arts et Métiers
- Institut d'Etudes Françaises pour Etudiants Etrangers (IEFEE), a language school in the Université Paul Cézanne for foreign students of all levels of French proficiency
- , an international secondary school in Luynes, on the outskirts of Aix, taking a large number of English-speaking students.
- The American University Center of Provence, an American study abroad program
- , a small program for American students studying abroad
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- , a private school in Luynes, on the outskirts of Aix
- , a private school in the east of Aix that teaches English IGCSE and A-level examinations as well as the French Baccalaureate.
Aix also has several training colleges, lycées, and a college of art and design. It has also become a centre for many international study programmes.
Culture
Music
Aix holds two significant musical events each year. These are:
Festival d'Aix-en-Provence
An important opera festival, the 'Festival international d'Art Lyrique' founded in 1948 which now ranks with those in Bayreuth, Salzburg and Glyndebourne. The current director is , director of la Monnaie in Brussels. The festival takes place in late June and July each year. The main venues in Aix itself are the outdoor Théâtre de l'Archévêché in the former garden of the archbishop's palace, the recently restored 18th century Théâtre du Jeu de Paume, and the newly built Grand Théâtre de Provence; operas are also staged in the outdoor Théâtre du Grand Saint-Jean outside Aix. Linked to the festival is the Académie européenne de musique, a summer school for young musicians with master classes by celebrated artists. Over the four year period from 2006 until 2009, Sir Simon Rattle's version of Wagner's Ring Cycle with the Berlin Philharmonic is being premiered at
the Aix festival.
Musique dans la Rue
This takes place each year in June to coincide with the national 'Fête de la Musique.' There is a week of classical, jazz and popular concerts held in different street venues and courtyards in the city. Some of these events are held in the Conservatoire Darius Milhaud, named in honour of the French composer, a native of Aix.
Museums and Libraries
Aix has several museums and galleries:
- Le Musée du Vieil Aix (Museum of Old Aix), housed in two period "hôtels particuliers" and devoted to the history and provencal heritage of Aix.
- Le Musée d’Histoire Naturelle (Natural History Museum).
- Le Musée de Tapisseries (Tapestry Museum), housed in the Archbishop's Palace and with a collection of tapestries and furniture from the 17th and 18th centuries.
- Le Musée Paul Arbaud (Faïence/Pottery).
- Le Musée Granet, a museum devoted to painting, sculpture and the archeology of Aix. It recently underwent significant restoration and reorganization, prior to the international exhibition in 2006 marking the centenary of Cézanne's death. Due to lack of space, the large archeological collection, including many recent discoveries, will be displayed in a new museum, still in the planning stages.
- Le Pavillon de Vendôme, a 17th century mansion housing permanent and touring art exhibitions.
- The a gallery dedicated to the works of the Hungarian-born French abstract painter Victor Vasarely.
- L'atelier Cézanne, a museum on the northern outskirts of Aix, constructed around the studio of Paul Cézanne, which can be viewed as it was at the painter's death.
- Jas de Bouffan, the house and grounds of Cézanne's father, now partially open to the public.
Prior to 1989 Aix had several libraries, for example in the Parc Jourdan and the Town Hall. In 1989, many of these were moved to the , an old match factory.
In 1993, the was opened around the library. This has media spaces for dance, cinema and music, and a training facility for librarians. Adjacent to the Cité du Livre are the Grand Théâtre de Provence (see above) and the , a centre for dance performance, with a resident modern dance company, Ballet Preljocaj.
Mont Sainte-Victoire
To the east of Aix rises Mont Sainte-Victoire (1011 m), one of the landmarks of the Pays d'Aix. It is accessible from the centre of Aix by road or on foot, taking the wooded footpath of Escrachou Pevou to the plateau of Bibemus. It dramatically overshadows the small dam built by Emile Zola's father and was a favourite subject and haunt of Paul Cézanne throughout his lifetime. In the village of le Tholonet on the precipitous southern side of Mont Sainte-Victoire, there is a windmill that he used and beyond that a mountain hut, the réfuge Cézanne, where he liked to paint.
To the north, the mountain slopes gently down through woodland to the village of Vauvenargues. The chateau that overlooks the village was formerly occupied by the Counts of Provence and the Archbishops of Aix before it became the family home of the marquis de Vauvenargues. It was acquired by the Spanish artist Pablo Picasso in 1958; fifteen years later he was buried in its grounds,
which are not currently open to the public. (Exceptionally the chateau will be open to the public from April to September 2009 to coincide with Picasso exhibitions in the south of France.)
Mont Sainte-Victoire has a complex network of paths, leading to the priory and Croix de Provence at the summit, to the large man-made reservoir of Bimont and to the roman viaduct above le Tholonet.
Economy
Industries formerly included flour-milling, the manufacture of confectionery, iron-ware, hats, matches and the extraction of olive oil.
Current economic activities include:
- Tourism.
- Entertainment, particularly opera and dance.
- The semiconductor and electronics industry in Rousset, to the south of Mont St Victoire, specializing in microchip technology for credit cards.
- Education and research. In Aix the University of Aix-Marseille specializes in the humanities, law and economics.
- The computer software industry.
- The manufacture of santons, traditional hand-crafted figurines, often associated with provencal Christmas creches.
- The manufacture of olive oil.
- The manufacture of calissons, a lozenge-shaped confection made from almonds and crystallised melon. Each year in early September, there is a mass in French and Provencal in the medieval church of St Jean de Malte to bless the calissons - la bénédiction des calissons. This ceremony has been held since the seventeeth century to mark the deliverance of Aix from the plague. It is currently accompanied by a colourful provencal pageant, involving most of the local calisson manufacturers and their wares.
- Viticulture: the local Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée is Coteaux d'Aix-en-Provence AOC, with many vineyards between Aix and the River Durance to the north. The reputed appellation of Palette AOC is represented by the estates of Château Simone in Meyreuil and Château Crémade in Le Tholonet, to the east of Aix.
- Chocolate: the well known Chocolaterie de Puyricard is situated in the hills to the north of Aix.
Transport
A set of ancient roads radiate out from Aix to the surrounding countryside, the Pays d'Aix. There are also a large number of modern autoroutes connecting Aix to nearby towns. There are autoroutes northwards to Avignon and to the Luberon; southwards to Marseille; and eastwards to Aubagne and the Mediterranean coast of Provence; and to Nice and other towns on the French Riviera. Aix and Marseille are equidistant from the international airport of Marseille-Provence at Marignane on the Etang de Berre. There is a frequent bus shuttle service from the main bus station in Aix. This shuttle also serves the nearby TGV station "Aix-TGV" at l'Arbois, in the middle of the countryside about 10 miles from Aix.
At Aix-TGV the line from Paris branches to Marseille and Nice; it takes about 3 hours to get from Paris to Aix by TGV. Aix also has a railway station near the centre, but the single track line which connects Marseille to Aix, and from there to the Luberon and Briancon in the French Alps, is currently only partially in service during modernisation. A frequent and rapid shuttle bus service for commuters operates between the bus station in Aix and Marseille. There are many other long distance and local buses from the bus station.
In the town itself, there is an inexpensive and efficient municipal bus service, including a dial-a-bus service ("proxibus"), a park-and-ride service and tiny electrified buses for those with mobility problems. The central old town of Aix is for the most part pedestrianised. There are large underground and overground parking structures placed at regular intervals on the "boulevard exterieur", the predominantly one-way ring road that encircles the old town. Access to the old town is by a series of often narrow one-way streets that can be confusing to navigate for the uninitiated.
As in many other French cities, a short-term bicycle hire scheme nicknamed V'Hello, free for trips of less than half an hour, has recently been put in place by the town council: and has been popular with tourists. As well as overland routes, two "rivers" flow through Aix, the Arc and the Torse, but neither of them can remotely be described as navigable.
Miscellaneous
The local Aix dialect, rarely used and spoken by a rapidly decreasing number of people, is part of the provencal dialect of Occitan language. The provencal for "Aix-en-Provence" is "Ais de Prouvènço" ['z'aj de p?u'v?ns?']. Most of the older streets in Aix have names in both Provencal and French.
Aix hosted the ninth International Congress of Modern Architecture in 1953.
Aix is the home town of the rugby union team Pays d'Aix RC. It played host to the All Blacks during the early stages of the 2007 Rugby World Cup.
Ysabel, the tenth novel of the best-selling Canadian author Guy Gavriel Kay, was set and written in Aix.
Twin towns
Aix-en-Provence is officially twinned
with the following seven cities (in alphabetical order):
Ashkelon, Israel since 1995
Bath, United Kingdom since 1977
Carthage, Tunisia since 1993
Coimbra, Portugal since 1982
Granada, Spain since 1978
Perugia, Italy since 1970
Tübingen, Germany since 1960
In addition Aix has international cooperations, partnerships and exchanges with the following cities from all over the world: Oujda (Morocco) since 1997, Baalbeck (Lebanon), Bamako (Mali), Baton Rouge(USA), Coral Gables (USA), Philadelphia (USA) since 1998, Chaoyang (China), Foshan (China), Meguro (Japan) and Kumamoto (Japan).
People from Aix
Births
  - Eleanor of Provence (died 1291), queen consort of King Henry III of England
- Charles Annibal Fabrot, (1580–1659), French jurist, born in Aix
- David-Augustin de Brueys, (1640–1723) theologian and playwright
- Joseph Pitton de Tournefort, (1656–1708), botanist
- André Campra 1660–1744, composer and conductor
- Jean-Baptiste van Loo (1684–1745), painter
- Laurent Belissen, (1693–1762), baroque composer
- Joseph Lieutaud, (1703–1780), doctor to Louis XV of France
- Luc de Clapiers, marquis de Vauvenargues, (1715-1747), writer and moralist
- Joseph Sec, (1715–1794), a carpenter and an architect
- Jean-François Pierre Peyron, (1744–1814), painter
- Jean-Baptiste Giraud, (1752–1830), sculptor
- Toussaint-Bernard Éméric-David, (1755–1839), archeologist and arts writer
- Antoine Balthazar Joachim d'André, (1759–1825), member of the National Constituent Assembly of 1789
- François Marius Granet (1775–1849), painter
- Charles-Joseph-Eugene de Mazenod (1782–1861), bishop of Marseille and founder of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate
- François Mignet, (1796–1884), historian
- François Vincent Latil, (1796–1890), French painter
- Achille Emperaire, (1829–1898), French painter, friends with Paul Cézanne
- Paul Cézanne (1839–1906), painter who lived and painted in the city
- Philippe Solari, (1840–1906), French sculptor
- Maurice Rouvier (1842–1911), politician
- Alfred Capus (1858–1922), playwright, member of the Académie française
- Henri Brémond (1864–1933), theologian
- Armand Lunel, (1892–1977), last known speaker of Shuadit
- Darius Milhaud (1892–1984), composer and teacher
- Paul Veyne, (born in 1930), historian and archeologist
- Julia Zemiro (born 1967), French-Australian actor and host of Australian television program Rockwiz
- Hélène Grimaud (born 1969), concert pianist
- Franck Cammas (born 1972), Professional racing sailor
- Arnaud Clément (born 1977), professional tennis player, finalist at the Australian Open in 2001
Famous residents
* Saint Maximin, the early Christian disciple and first bishop of Aix, who according to provencal tradition evangelised Aix with Mary Magdalen
- Saint Mitre, the Christian martyr who died in Aix in 466 and whose relics are preserved in the Cathedral
- Barthélemy d'Eyck, painter
- Nicolas-Claude Fabri de Peiresc, (1580–1637), a scientist best known for his correspondence
- Jean Daret, (1613–1668), the French painter, who died in Aix
- Pierre Joseph Garidel, (1658–1737), the botanist
- Jean-Baptiste Marie de Piquet, Marquis of Méjanes, (1729–1786), who bequeathed to the town his collection of between 60 and 80 thousand books, which later became the municipal library, the Bibliothèque Méjanes
- Jean de Dieu-Raymond de Cucé de Boisgelin (1732–1804), Archbishop of Aix.
- Victor d'Hupay, (1746–1818), writer and philosopher
- Jean-Antoine Constantin, (1756–1844), painter
- Ambroise Roux-Alphéran, (1776–1858), a clerk of court and historian
- Émile Zola (1840–1902), the novelist, who was born in Paris but spent his childhood in Aix
- Joseph Ravaisou, (1865–1925), French painter, who died in Aix
- Louise Germain, (1874–1939), French painter, who died in Aix
- Joseph d'Arbaud, (1874–1950), French poet, who died in Aix
- Christophe Rousset, (born 1961), French conductor and harpsichordist, who grew up in Aix
Gallery
See also
External links
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