Bastide de Repentance
MonumentHidden Treasure
Bastide de Repentance, located in Aix-en-Provence (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
- Aix-en-Provence, Bouches-du-Rhône, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 43.5392, 5.4778
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00080979
Nichée dans la campagne aixoise, la Bastide de Repentance est un joyau de l'architecture provençale du Grand Siècle, alliant rigueur classique et douceur de vivre méridionale dans un domaine classé Monument Historique.
History
La Bastide de Repentance is part of the great tradition of Provençal country houses that flourished around Aix-en-Provence from the 17th century onwards, when the nobility of the robe and the parliamentary upper classes chose the surrounding countryside as their holiday homes. Far from being mere country houses, these residences were veritable architectural jewels, reflecting the social status and cultural refinement of their owners. What sets the Bastide de Repentance apart is its very name - enigmatic, charged with a spiritual gravity that contrasts with the lightness usually associated with the pleasures of a summer holiday. This evocative name has fuelled imaginations over the centuries, perhaps suggesting a foundation linked to a pious vow, a painful event or a spiritual retreat, in the image of those places of meditation that the southern aristocracy liked to create on the fringes of the city's splendour. The building, erected in the third quarter of the 17th century and then added to and embellished in the 18th century, displays the dual character so characteristic of the bastides of Aix: a beautifully sober façade, where the region's ashlar limestone triumphs, and interiors that reveal, to the casual observer, the care taken with the painted decorations, glazed tiles and carved woodwork typical of the Provencal art of living. Come and explore this listed estate, a precious testimony to a time when Aix-en-Provence, home of the Parlement de Provence, was one of the cultural capitals of the kingdom. Photographers and architecture enthusiasts will find its well-balanced volumes and surroundings of garrigue and pine forest an inexhaustible field of exploration. The Bastide de Repentance remains a discreet monument, jealously preserved, which imposes on visitors a form of respect: that which is owed to the authentic testimonies of an art of building that has now disappeared. Its dual protection as a Historic Monument - simultaneous classification and registration since 1984 - bears witness to the importance attached to it by the heritage authorities.
Architecture
The Bastide de Repentance is typical of the classical Provencal bastide that developed around Aix-en-Provence in the second half of the 17th century. The main facade, which traditionally faces south to take advantage of the Provencal sunshine, is distinguished by its ordered composition: a slightly projecting central body, windows with moulded frames regularly distributed over two levels, and a low-pitched roof covered with Roman hollow tiles, typical of the region. The local limestone, a light ochre colour, lends the whole building that luminous warmth so typical of Provencal buildings. The interiors, enriched during the 18th-century campaigns, reflect the refined taste of their patrons. There is likely to be a grand staircase with straight flights, drawing rooms with painted panelling or gypsum work, and floors of varnished hexagonal terracotta tiles - all typical features of the interior decor of the great Aix country houses of the period. The kitchens and outbuildings, housed in side wings or outbuildings, complete the functional layout of the estate. The estate probably includes a structured garden, a legacy of classical 17th-century designs, combining terraces, cypress and plane tree-lined paths, ponds and flowerbeds - all elements that echo the great Provencal landscape designs of the period and give the ensemble its spatial depth and aesthetic coherence.
Related Figures
Commanditaire inconnu de la noblesse de robe aixoise (3e quart du XVIIe siècle), bâtisseur originel de la bastidePropriétaire anonyme du XVIIIe siècle, responsable des campagnes d'embellissement et de modernisation du domaineMembres du Parlement de Provence (XVIIe-XVIIIe siècles), milieu social dont sont issus la plupart des bâtisseurs de bastides aixoisesArchitectes de l'école provençale classique du XVIIe siècle, héritiers des traditions toscanes et romaines
Tags
Nearby castles
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Bastide de Repentance located?
Bastide de Repentance is located in Aix-en-Provence, Bouches-du-Rhône department, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, France.
When was Bastide de Repentance built?
Bastide de Repentance dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Bastide de Repentance open to visitors?
Bastide de Repentance is currently closed to visitors.
