Bastide de Montfinal
MonumentHidden Treasure
Bastide de Montfinal, located in Bouc-Bel-Air (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
- Bouc-Bel-Air, Bouches-du-Rhône, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 43.4560, 5.3921
- Mérimée Reference
- PA13000048
Nestling in the Provencal hills of Bouc-Bel-Air, the bastide of Montfinal (1741) reveals sixteen rooms decorated with Louis XVI gypseries, a dovecote and a sundial engraved in the golden stone of the south.
History
Standing on the wooded heights of Bouc-Bel-Air, just outside Aix-en-Provence, the bastide of Montfinal elegantly embodies the aristocratic Provencal art of living in the 18th century. Neither an austere château nor a simple country house, the bastide is a type of seigneurial dwelling specific to Provence: a summer residence where the noblesse de robe and the well-off bourgeoisie came to recharge their batteries away from the stifling heat of the cities, surrounded by their vineyards and gardens. What sets Montfinal apart from so many other Provencal residences of the same period is the remarkable coherence of its estate. The property is more than just a facade: it forms a living whole, where the main bastide sits alongside a dovecote, a paddock, a fountain and meadows, all surrounded by vines that recall the agricultural and nourishing vocation of these large landed estates. The sundial, dated 1741, sits like a discreet manifesto, testifying to the spirit of the Enlightenment that inspired its first occupants. The interior is a real surprise. During alterations carried out from 1775 onwards, Provençal craftsmen decorated the sixteen rooms with gypseries in the purest Louis XVI style: delicate arabesques, garlands of stylised flowers, medallions and neoclassical motifs in white stucco enliven the walls with a lightness that is unique to this style. This decorative ensemble, inventoried during the French Revolution, is now one of the best-preserved bastide interiors in the Bouches-du-Rhône department. To visit Montfinal is to capture the quintessence of a way of life that no longer exists. The light of Provence filters through the plane tree lanes, the limestone facades take on an ochre and honey hue, and it's easy to see why these lands have so fascinated painters and writers. Landscape architects and those with a passion for the history of the interior will find plenty here for lasting contemplation, far from the crowds.
Architecture
The bastide of Montfinal is part of the great tradition of 18th-century Provencal civil architecture. The main facade, which faces south in accordance with local custom, is a classic example of the bastide architecture of Aix-en-Provence: a compact two- or three-storey building, punctuated by mullioned or straight-headed windows framed by ashlar, topped by a low-pitched roof covered in round tiles. The carefully crafted local limestone walls feature the warm shades of beige, light ochre and gold that are so characteristic of the Bouches-du-Rhône built landscape. The sundial, which is both decorative and functional, takes pride of place on one of the façades, engraved in stone and bearing the date 1741. The estate forms a coherent architectural whole that is complemented by a number of characteristic outbuildings: the dovecote, an isolated cylindrical or square tower whose presence in the past was evidence of a seigneurial right, the ornamental grove structured in the French or English style according to the fashion of the time, and the fountain that punctuates the exterior space with an element that is both practical and ornamental, continuing the ancient tradition of water in Mediterranean architecture. The interior is Montfinal's real architectural pièce de résistance. The sixteen rooms inventoried at the time of the French Revolution are decorated with Louis XVI-style gypseries of the highest quality. This style, which appeared between 1760 and 1770, is characterised by light, airy compositions: friezes with ribbon tracery, oval medallions, laurel or rose garlands, fluted pilasters, cornices with oves and dentils. All of this is done in white or lightly tinted stucco, playing on the effects of relief to enliven the wall surfaces without ever weighing down the space. This coherent decorative ensemble, rare on such a scale in a rural bastide, is in itself sufficient justification for the building to be listed as a Historic Monument.
Related Figures
Propriétaire fondateur (1741) — commanditaire anonyme de la bastide, probablement issu de la noblesse de robe ou de la grande bourgeoisie aixoiseMaître d'œuvre de la campagne de 1775 — artisan ou architecte local ayant supervisé la pose des gypseries Louis XVIGypsiers provençaux (vers 1775) — artisans spécialisés dans le stuc et la décoration intérieure, héritiers d'une tradition remontant aux ateliers génois et lombardsCommissaires révolutionnaires (1789-1793) — rédacteurs des inventaires qui nous ont conservé la description des seize chambres décoréesInspecteurs des Monuments Historiques (2005) — experts ayant instruit et signé l'arrêté d'inscription du 20 septembre 2005
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Bastide de Montfinal located?
Bastide de Montfinal is located in Bouc-Bel-Air, Bouches-du-Rhône department, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, France.
When was Bastide de Montfinal built?
Bastide de Montfinal dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Bastide de Montfinal open to visitors?
Bastide de Montfinal is currently closed to visitors.