Maison du 18s
MonumentHidden Treasure
Maison du 18s, located in Eyguières (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
- Eyguières, Bouches-du-Rhône, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 43.6952, 5.0309
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00081254
Au cœur d'Eyguières, cette demeure provençale du XVIIIe siècle incarne l'élégance sobre de l'architecture bourgeoise de Provence, avec sa façade ordonnancée en pierre calcaire et ses ferronneries d'époque classiques.
History
Nestling in the historic urban fabric of Eyguières, a small town in the Alpilles whose history goes back to antiquity, this 18th-century house is one of the most intact examples of Provençal building techniques under the Ancien Régime. Far from the grandiloquence of the private mansions of Aix-en-Provence, it embodies a measured elegance, typical of the landed and merchant bourgeoisie that flourished in the market towns of the Arles region at the time. Its facade reveals a rigorously ordered composition, characteristic of the classical taste disseminated from Paris but interpreted with a local sensibility: light-coloured, fine-grained ashlar, moulded window surrounds and soberly profiled cornices that punctuate the levels. The ironwork on the long balconies - so typical of wealthy Provencal homes in the Age of Enlightenment - bears witness to regional craftsmanship at its peak. To enter this building is to enter the intimate life of an eighteenth-century family of notables: the interior spaces, laid out around a stone staircase with an elaborate balustrade, feature generously proportioned rooms, lit by tall windows oriented to take advantage of the light from the south while providing protection from the summer heat. The French or stuccoed ceilings, depending on the room, reflect the influence of regional decorative art. Eyguières itself offers a remarkable setting: set against the eastern foothills of the Alpilles mountains, the town has preserved a high-quality old town centre, dotted with fountains, an old windmill and the remains of a thousand-year-old settlement. The house is part of this coherent urban landscape, where the stone and sun of Provence create a timeless atmosphere that has nothing to envy the tourist celebrities of neighbouring Baux-de-Provence.
Architecture
This 18th-century house in Eyguières adopts the principles of Provençal classicism, an architectural movement that combines the ordered rigour imported from Paris with the building traditions of the Arles region. Its facade, built over two or three storeys in the usual style of local middle-class homes, is made of blond or pale ochre limestone quarried in the Alpilles region - a material that absorbs and transmits Mediterranean light with particular warmth. The windows are framed by moulded architraves and arranged in regular bays, giving the whole a soothing symmetry. Wrought-iron balconies with geometric motifs or stylised foliage enliven the first floor and reveal the mastery of the wrought-iron craftsmen working in the region at the time. The low-sloped roof, covered in Provençal terracotta hollow tiles, crowns the building with a slightly overhanging profiled cornice, protecting the façades from the sun's rays. Inside, the layout is organised around a stone staircase with an elaborate banister, a key feature of 18th-century Provencal domestic architecture. The reception rooms on the first floor feature marble or carved stone fireplaces, ceilings with stuccoed mouldings and herringbone parquet flooring. The depth of the window embrasures - a direct result of the thickness of the solid masonry walls - underlines the solidity and permanence of an architecture designed to last for several centuries.
Related Figures
Famille de notaires ou de propriétaires fonciers commanditaires de la construction (XVIIIe siècle, identité non établie)Maçons et tailleurs de pierre provençaux formés dans l'orbite des chantiers aixois (XVIIIe siècle)Conservateurs des Monuments Historiques ayant instruit le dossier d'inscription de 1930Inspecteurs du patrimoine du ministère de la Culture ayant renouvelé la protection en 2020
Tags
Nearby castles
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Maison du 18s located?
Maison du 18s is located in Eyguières, Bouches-du-Rhône department, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, France.
When was Maison du 18s built?
Maison du 18s dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Maison du 18s open to visitors?
Maison du 18s is currently closed to visitors.
