Léproserie Saint-Lazare
MonumentHidden Treasure
Léproserie Saint-Lazare, 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
- 43.6717, 4.6412
- Mérimée Reference
- PA13000049
A unique medieval vestige in Provence, the Saint-Lazare leprosarium in Arles dates back to 1183 and bears witness to the organisation of charitable medicine in the Middle Ages, between the Renaissance court and the memory of the outcasts.
History
Nestling on the outskirts of the city of Arles, the Saint-Lazare leprosarium is one of the few surviving examples of a medieval sickhouse in Provence. These establishments, placed under the protection of Saint Lazarus - patron saint of lepers - were both a place of sanitary isolation and a place of spiritual care, where the sick lived in community under a quasi-monastic rule. Far from being a mere ruin, the site boasts functional, sober architecture that bears witness to the rigour with which medieval and modern societies organised therapeutic segregation. What makes Saint-Lazare truly unique is the legible superimposition of its construction phases: from the original medieval building to the remodelling of the 16th century, then to the transformations linked to its industrial conversion in the 18th century. The central courtyard, with its two wings forming a square plan, retains the spatial logic of a "maladrerie", which strictly separated men from women, while maintaining a community life structured around a chapel. A visit to the Saint-Lazare leprosarium means venturing off the beaten track of the arena and the ancient theatre to discover a more intimate and darker history of the city of Arles - that of its fringes, its sick and its forgotten. For the more educated visitor, it offers food for thought on the long history of medicine and social exclusion in France. The setting itself, marked by the successive traces of its history - a former church converted into an oil mill, late lean-tos, an eighteenth-century house - offers an almost stratigraphic archaeological reading, where each era has left its mark without erasing the previous one. A discreet monument with a rare historical density.
Architecture
The layout of the Saint-Lazare leprosarium was organised around a central courtyard, framed by two wings built or rebuilt during the 1556 renovation campaign. This angled layout, typical of hospital establishments in the Southern Renaissance, allowed for efficient traffic management while maintaining the strict separation of men and women required by the community rules. The courtyard façades, which were initially preceded by an arcaded portico topped by a gallery in the 17th century (now no longer in existence), were to have a sober, rhythmic layout, similar to contemporary convent cloisters. The materials used are those of the Arles vernacular: local limestone ashlar, dense and luminous, characteristic of Provençal buildings of the modern period, combined with rendering, traces of which remain in places. The roof, probably made of Roman-style hollow tiles according to regional tradition, blends into the surrounding Mediterranean architectural landscape. The former chapel, converted into an oil mill at the end of the 18th century, is the oldest dated element of the complex and probably retains its medieval spatial layout under its industrial transformations. The lean-to buildings added to the eastern facades in the 18th century and the house built to the west at the same time blur the overall picture, but also contribute to the archaeological interest of the site, whose different chronological strata are still visible and can be analysed.
Related Figures
Les frères hospitaliers de Saint-Lazare (ordre gestionnaire médiéval des léproseries)Lépreux anonymes d'Arles (résidents attestés entre XIIe et XVIIe siècles)Fabricant d'huile arlésien (acquéreur du site en 1783, initiateur de la reconversion industrielle)Administrateurs municipaux d'Arles (décideurs de la restauration de 1556)Évêques d'Arles médiévaux (tutelle ecclésiastique de la maladrerie)
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Léproserie Saint-Lazare located?
Léproserie Saint-Lazare is located in Arles, Bouches-du-Rhône department, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, France.
When was Léproserie Saint-Lazare built?
Léproserie Saint-Lazare dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Léproserie Saint-Lazare open to visitors?
Léproserie Saint-Lazare is currently closed to visitors.