AixcentricInspireProvencal History & Traditions

Place d’Albertas in Aix-en-Provence Time for Improvements

According to information from the Mairie in Aix-en-Provence, the long-running saga of this 18th-century square might be resolved soon. The ‘travaux’ should begin quickly and will last nine months.

The square dates back to 1745 when the d’Albertas family, who lived in the large building opposite what was then a narrow street, decided that the old houses facing their property just had to go. Original contributor post by: Aixcentric.

Walking Tour Fountains Aix Place d'Albertas

More on Place d’Albertas

For a great view of local architecture and a photogenic fountain, head to Place d’Albertas. Named after the influential d’Albertas family, who migrated to Aix from Italy, the square was built at the request of Jean Baptiste d’Albertas, President of the Audit Office (la Cours des Comtes), in 1745. He wanted a better view from the windows of his home across the street, so he bought the buildings around the square and had them demolished (rational solution!). The houses were then rebuilt in a baroque style adhering to strict building guidelines, and sold to Aix inhabitants. This was a housing development before its time! The fountain in the square was designed and built by the students at the Ecole des Arts et Métiers in 1912 and replaced a previous fountain in terrible condition.

The place or square is at the heart of French culture — not to mention community and architecture. Every town, big or small, has its fair share of sites that have overseen festivals, markets, and families for centuries. Place d’Albertas is one of six (6) must-see squares in Aix-en-Provence.

.

Please share this with friends and family.

All rights reserved. Perfectly Provence articles and other content may not be published, broadcast, rewritten (including translations into other languages) or redistributed without written permission. For usage information, please contact us.
Syndication Information
Affiliate Information
As an Amazon Associate, this website earns from qualifying purchases. Some recipes, posts and pages may have affiliate links. If you purchase via these links, we receive a small commission that does not impact your price. Thank you in advance for supporting our work to maintain Perfectly Provence.
Previous post

4 Artisan Creators Worth Visiting in Provence

Next post

How to Spend a Day Sightseeing in Arles

Lynne Alderson

Aixcentric was set up by Lynne Alderson three years ago as a channel to send out info on events taking place around Aix as well as news, relevant books, the latest films, new shops and of course where to eat locally. Why?

According, to Lynne:

"It came about out of frustration with the lack of communication in the town. Posters would suddenly go up about an event that week. No prewarning. I had difficulty too in finding information from many of the tourist offices. Things are slowly getting better and there is sometimes information in English. Hopefully by keeping an eagle eye on the local press and talking with contacts in town, I can publicize fun things that people would otherwise miss. It's a ragbag of info that I come across on my travels. I've published nearly 600 posts now and have lots of followers so hopefully, it is fulfilling its role of helping people, residents and visitors alike, get the most of their time in Aix."

For what is going on in Aix-en-Provence, Lynne has you covered at Aixcentric

No Comment

Leave a reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *


The reCAPTCHA verification period has expired. Please reload the page.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.