Ancien collège des Jésuites et ancien hôtel de Laval-Castellane, actuellement musée d'art chrétien et Museon Arlaten
MonumentHidden Treasure
Ancien collège des Jésuites et ancien hôtel de Laval-Castellane, actuellement musée d'art chrétien et Museon Arlaten, located in Arles (Bouches-du-Rhône), is a Renaissance château built in the 16th century. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- autre
- Period
- Renaissance (16th century)
- Location
- Arles, Bouches-du-Rhône, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 43.6767, 4.6265
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00081126
In Arles, the former Jesuit college is home to the Museon Arlaten and the Museum of Christian Art, revealing ancient remains, a 17th-century Baroque chapel and ethnographic collections that are unique in Provence.
History
In the heart of Arles, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, stands an exceptional architectural ensemble whose superimposed layers tell the story of fifteen centuries of uninterrupted history. The former Jesuit College and the Hôtel de Laval-Castellane now form a dual museum complex, housing both the Museum of Christian Art and the legendary Museon Arlaten, Provence's oldest museum of ethnography. What makes this site truly unique is the harmonious coexistence of several eras in the same building: Roman foundations and rooms remain beneath the 17th-century structures, testifying to the uninterrupted continuity of human occupation on this site since Antiquity. The famous double-aisled room, a former cryptoportico that has been transformed over the centuries, is one of the most beautiful vaulted rooms in Arles. Visitors enter a space where Jesuit baroque meets Romanesque austerity and the nobility of 18th-century hotel architecture. The college chapel, built in the third quarter of the 17th century, is a discreet jewel of Southern Baroque art, whose slender proportions and controlled lighting create a rare atmosphere of contemplation. The Museon Arlaten, founded by the poet Frédéric Mistral thanks to his Nobel Prize, displays its regional ethnographic collections here: costumes, everyday objects, furniture and the oral traditions of Provence and the Camargue. A visit here is a total immersion in the Provençal soul, far removed from tourist clichés, and supported by a renewed museography that respects the depth of the place.
Architecture
The architectural ensemble is the result of the superimposition of three major construction phases, each corresponding to a distinct aesthetic. The oldest parts, inherited from Antiquity or the early Middle Ages, can be seen in the basements, thick walls and vaulted rooms that recall Roman caementicium techniques. These underground or semi-subterranean spaces were long used as cellars or storage areas before being rediscovered and showcased. The monumental heart of the complex is the 17th-century Jesuit chapel. With a single slender nave, it adopts the longitudinal plan favoured by the Society of Jesus since the Gesù church in Rome. The sober, hieratic façade plays on the contrasts of light and shadow typical of the Southern Baroque, while the interior features engaged pilasters, shallow side chapels and zenithal light that magnifies the volumes. The materials used are local limestone, warm and ochre, characteristic of the Crau and Alpilles regions. The Hôtel de Laval-Castellane adds a classical touch to the 18th century: a well-ordered interior courtyard, a grand staircase with stone balusters, and rooms laid out according to the canons of Provençal nobility. Today, the ensemble forms a coherent whole, whose stylistic diversity is in itself a lesson in the evolution of architectural taste in southern France.
Related Figures
Frédéric Mistral — poète provençal, prix Nobel de littérature 1904, fondateur du Museon ArlatenFamille de Laval-Castellane — grande lignée nobiliaire provençale, propriétaires de l'hôtel attenantLes Pères jésuites — bâtisseurs du collège et de la chapelle au XVIIe siècleIgnace de Loyola — fondateur de la Compagnie de Jésus, dont les principes pédagogiques et architecturaux ont guidé la construction du collègeMistral et les Félibres — cercle d'intellectuels occitans ayant accompagné la création du musée ethnographique
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Ancien collège des Jésuites et ancien hôtel de Laval-Castellane, actuellement musée d'art chrétien et Museon Arlaten located?
Ancien collège des Jésuites et ancien hôtel de Laval-Castellane, actuellement musée d'art chrétien et Museon Arlaten is located in Arles, Bouches-du-Rhône department, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, France.
When was Ancien collège des Jésuites et ancien hôtel de Laval-Castellane, actuellement musée d'art chrétien et Museon Arlaten built?
Ancien collège des Jésuites et ancien hôtel de Laval-Castellane, actuellement musée d'art chrétien et Museon Arlaten dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Ancien collège des Jésuites et ancien hôtel de Laval-Castellane, actuellement musée d'art chrétien et Museon Arlaten open to visitors?
Ancien collège des Jésuites et ancien hôtel de Laval-Castellane, actuellement musée d'art chrétien et Museon Arlaten is currently closed to visitors.