Maison du 16s
MonumentHidden Treasure
Maison du 16s, 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
- 43.6777, 4.6285
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00081166
In the heart of ancient Arles, this 16th-century residence epitomises the Provençal Renaissance in all its elegant sobriety, with its dressed stone façade, sculpted frames and memory of a Mediterranean art of living.
History
Nestling in the millennia-old urban fabric of Arles, this 16th-century house is one of those discreet jewels that the city has managed to preserve over the centuries. Listed as a Historic Monument since 1927, it bears witness to the architectural vitality that animated the city of Camargue during the Renaissance, a time when Provençal merchants, notaries and scholars vied with each other in their ambitions to build homes worthy of their rank. What makes this building so special is precisely this tension, which is typical of 16th-century civil architecture in Arles: a facade firmly rooted in the region's Romanesque and medieval traditions, where the local stone - light-coloured limestone with golden reflections in the southern sun - is combined with ornamental details borrowed from the vocabulary of the Italian Renaissance. The elaborate window surrounds, sober mouldings and well-balanced proportions of the openings reveal a patron with discerning taste, keen to embrace modernity without denying the deep-rooted identity of his town. To visit this house is to immerse yourself in the most intimate layer of Arles' heritage, far from the great arenas and the ancient theatre, but just as revealing of the city's soul. The street that runs alongside it, like so many other thoroughfares in the historic centre, is layered with layers of history: here a Roman vestige emerges in a wall, there a medieval cornice overhangs a Renaissance lintel. The setting of Arles itself enhances the visit. Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its ancient monuments, the city offers an exceptionally rich architectural journey around this residence. The low-angled light of the golden hour, so dear to Van Gogh who lived here in 1888, bathes the stone façades in an amber colour that sublimates every sculpted detail. For lovers of civil architecture and urban history, this house is an essential stop-off point: it embodies the living continuity of Arles, a city that has never stopped building, transforming and passing on.
Architecture
This 16th-century house in Arles displays the typical features of Provençal civil architecture of the Renaissance period, marked by a commitment to sobriety and the quality of the stonework. The façade, built of local limestone in cream and ochre tones, is arranged over two or three storeys in a rhythm of regular openings whose moulded frames bear witness to the mastery of Arles' stonemasons. The windows, probably with stone crosspieces or mullions, are the most visible decorative elements of the composition, with their lintels sculpted with a simple frieze - oves, twists or stylised acanthus leaves - characteristic of the early Southern Renaissance. The structure of the building itself follows the canonical layout of the Provencal urban house: a ground floor, once used for business activities or a shop, with a carriage entrance or a finely worked straight-headed doorway, and upper floors reserved for living quarters. The roof, with its low slope in the Mediterranean tradition, is probably covered with Roman canal tiles, a universal material in Provence since Antiquity. The limestone rubble walls, chained with ashlar at the corners, give the building a remarkable solidity that partly explains its longevity. Inside, there is likely to be a stone spiral staircase or straight banisters, a well or cistern in an inner courtyard, and wooden joist ceilings typical of the period. This balance between the rigour of the exterior façade and the warmth of the interior materials is the hallmark of 16th-century Arles domestic architecture, which is heir to both Rome and the Mediterranean.
Related Figures
Commanditaire bourgeois arlésien anonyme du XVIe siècle, probablement issu du négoce ou de la justice localeTailleurs de pierre provençaux du XVIe siècle, artisans anonymes formés à l'école gothique et convertis aux formes de la RenaissanceInspecteurs des Monuments Historiques (années 1920), artisans de la protection officielle de 1927François Ier, roi de France (1494-1547), dont le mécénat royal diffuse la Renaissance italienne jusqu'en ProvenceVincent van Gogh (1853-1890), dont le séjour arlésien de 1888-1889 contribuera bien plus tard à la notoriété internationale du patrimoine de la ville
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Maison du 16s located?
Maison du 16s is located in Arles, Bouches-du-Rhône department, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, France.
When was Maison du 16s built?
Maison du 16s dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Maison du 16s open to visitors?
Maison du 16s is currently closed to visitors.