Hôtel de Maliverny
MonumentHidden Treasure
Hôtel de Maliverny, 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
- 43.5280, 5.4536
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00081040
A discreet jewel of Provençal Baroque, the Hôtel de Maliverny's 17th-century facades in the heart of old Aix bear elegant witness to the golden age of parliament in the capital of Provence.
History
Nestled within the golden maze of narrow streets of old Aix-en-Provence, the hôtel de Maliverny belongs to that constellation of private mansions which made the city, in the 17th century, one of the most refined in the kingdom of France. Built at a time when Aix flourished as the capital of the parlement de Provence, it embodies the sophistication of a parliamentary bourgeoisie and a noblesse de robe keen to display its success in stone and the limestone of Bibémus. What distinguishes the hôtel de Maliverny amongst the many private mansions of Aix is precisely that aristocratic restraint characteristic of Provençal Baroque: no excessive ostentation, but rather a measured elegance in which every detail — sculpted surrounds, the proportions of the casement windows, the arrangement of the inner courtyard — reveals the hand of craftsmen at the height of their art. The façade, characteristic of the grand Aix residences of the Grand Siècle, plays skilfully on the contrasts between the rigour of its lines and the discreet fancy of its ornamentation. The building forms part of the exceptional urban fabric that is the historic centre of Aix-en-Provence, a stone's throw from the cours Mirabeau and its moss-covered fountains. To stroll through this quarter is to pass through three centuries of history with ease, at the unhurried pace that the people of Aix have elevated to the status of an art de vivre. The hôtel de Maliverny, protected since 1971 under the Monuments Historiques listing, benefits from a preservation order that guarantees the authenticity of its volumes and decorative features. For the visitor with a love of civil architecture, the hôtel de Maliverny offers an intimate reading of Provençal Baroque urbanism, far removed from the grand theatrical schemes of Versailles, in a city where the very light itself seems sculpted by Cézanne.
Architecture
The Hôtel de Maliverny is part of the great tradition of seventeenth-century Aix private mansions, characterised by a U-shaped plan around an interior courtyard, with a principal main body facing the street and lateral wings flanking a cobbled courtyard accessible through a monumental gateway. The street façade, composed in pale Bibémus limestone — that golden stone which gives Aix its luminous ochre hue — presents a rigorous arrangement of bays rhythmed by pilasters or lesenes, and punctuated by cross-windows with moulded surrounds characteristic of the Provençal Louis XIII–Louis XIV style. The decorative elements reveal the hand of craftsmen well-versed in the tempered Baroque vocabulary then prevailing in Aix: masks or sculpted consoles accentuating the first-floor windows, a modillion cornice crowning the whole, and an entrance gateway whose pilasters, sculpted keystone, and worked fanlight constitute the focal point of the composition. The roof, with its shallow pitch in accordance with southern custom, is covered in Roman curved tiles which complete the situating of the building within its Provençal geography. Inside, the decorative scheme typical of this type of Aix mansion includes a grand staircase with straight flights, ceilings with painted beams or stuccoed coffers, and limestone chimneypieces with sculpted overmantels. These spaces bear witness to the art of living of a provincial élite who, unable to rival Versailles, nonetheless succeeded in creating at Aix a civil architecture of rare quality, intimate and refined.
Related Figures
La famille Maliverny — commanditaires présumés de l'hôtel, membres de la bourgeoisie ou de la noblesse parlementaire aixoise du XVIIe siècleLouis XIV — dont le règne correspond à l'apogée de la construction des hôtels particuliers aixois et à l'essor de ce modèle architecturalPierre Puget — sculpteur et architecte marseillais dont l'influence marque toute la production artistique provençale du XVIIe siècleJean-Claude Rambot — sculpteur aixois actif au XVIIe siècle, auteur de nombreux décors d'hôtels particuliers de la villeMichel Mazarin — archevêque d'Aix (1645-1648) et grand mécène qui impulse un renouveau architectural dans la ville
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Hôtel de Maliverny located?
Hôtel de Maliverny is located in Aix-en-Provence, Bouches-du-Rhône department, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, France.
When was Hôtel de Maliverny built?
Hôtel de Maliverny dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Hôtel de Maliverny open to visitors?
Hôtel de Maliverny is currently closed to visitors.