Hôtel de Gastaud (ou hôtel de Foresta ou hôtel de Montéty)
MonumentHidden Treasure
Hôtel de Gastaud (ou hôtel de Foresta ou hôtel de Montéty), 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
- 43.5251, 5.4498
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00081496
A 17th-century Baroque gem in Aix, the Hôtel de Gastaud showcases the grandeur of the Provençal parliamentary aristocracy. Its classical façades and inner courtyard bear witness to the splendour of the ‘City of Waters’.
History
In the heart of the Mazarin district, this patrician residence is one of the most eloquent witnesses to the golden age of Aix-en-Provence, when the city shone brightly as the capital of Provence and seat of Parliament. The Hôtel de Gastaud - also known as the Hôtel de Foresta and the Hôtel de Montéty, the aristocratic names that mark its history - is the focal point of several centuries of noble and bourgeois life. What distinguishes this private mansion from its neighbours is the clear superimposition of its construction campaigns: the original core from the third quarter of the 17th century, sober and majestic, was enriched in the 18th century and then transformed in the 19th, so that the residence offers the discerning eye a veritable architectural stratigraphy. Each façade, each wing, each sculpted detail tells a story of the city's social and artistic history. The tour reveals the typical layout of a southern mansion: a carriage entrance opening onto a well-ordered inner courtyard, wings laid out according to a logic of representation and intimacy, generous volumes bathed in the characteristic light of Provence. Visitors with an eye for art history will notice the quality of the local ashlar, the light-coloured limestone that gives Aix's homes their distinctive golden hue. The hotel also owes part of its fame to the presence of the painter-engraver Jean-Marie de Loustaunau, who lived and worked there. This artistic dimension makes it a doubly precious place: architectural heritage on the one hand, and the memory of Aix's creative life on the other. In a town that counted Paul Cézanne among its children and attracted generations of artists, this kind of connection between built space and artistic creation is by no means insignificant. Protected as a Historic Monument since 1990, the Hôtel de Gastaud is part of the exceptional fabric of old Aix, a stone's throw from the Cours Mirabeau and its thermal fountains. If you want to understand Provencal civilisation in all its depths, this is the place to go.
Architecture
The Hôtel de Gastaud is part of the great tradition of the 17th-century southern town house, characterised by its rigorous layout around an inner courtyard. The sober, hieratic facade on the street adopts the classical vocabulary in vogue at the time: bays arranged by pilasters or chains of refractions, mullioned windows or moulded frames, carriage entrance with a richly decorated fanlight allowing access to the carriages. The locally quarried limestone, known as Aix stone, gives the whole building its warm blond hue, characteristic of Aix buildings. The inner courtyard forms the architectural heart of the residence. Framed by the various main buildings, it is carefully symmetrical, and its arcades and mouldings reveal the expert hand of Jean Jaubert. Eighteenth- and nineteenth-century alterations have enriched the decorative corpus, with wrought-iron railings on the balconies, modillioned cornices and carefully rendered surfaces. The interiors, although partially transformed over the centuries, retain some remarkable features: coffered or stuccoed ceilings, sculpted fireplaces, and the enfilade layout typical of prestigious residences. The superimposition of three construction periods - 1667-1671, late eighteenth century, nineteenth century - can be seen in the slight stylistic discrepancies that give the building its charm: where Jaubertian classicism expresses itself with gravity, the eighteenth century brings lightness and grace, while the nineteenth century tempers the whole with discreet bourgeois comfort. This architectural palimpsest is precisely what makes it an invaluable object of study for the history of Provençal architecture.
Related Figures
Jean Jaubert — maître d'œuvre, constructeur de l'hôtel entre 1667 et 1671Jean-Marie de Loustaunau — peintre-graveur, résident illustre de l'hôtelFamille de Gastaud — premiers propriétaires nobles ayant donné son nom principal à la demeureFamille de Foresta — propriétaires successifs, noblesse parlementaire provençaleFamille de Montéty — autre lignée liée à l'histoire de l'hôtel, mentionnée dans sa dénomination
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Hôtel de Gastaud (ou hôtel de Foresta ou hôtel de Montéty) located?
Hôtel de Gastaud (ou hôtel de Foresta ou hôtel de Montéty) is located in Aix-en-Provence, Bouches-du-Rhône department, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, France.
When was Hôtel de Gastaud (ou hôtel de Foresta ou hôtel de Montéty) built?
Hôtel de Gastaud (ou hôtel de Foresta ou hôtel de Montéty) dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Hôtel de Gastaud (ou hôtel de Foresta ou hôtel de Montéty) open to visitors?
Hôtel de Gastaud (ou hôtel de Foresta ou hôtel de Montéty) is currently closed to visitors.