Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Grassi Garden, located in Aix-en-Provence, corresponds to the remains of a Roman domus searched between 1939 and 1945. This luxurious villa, dated from the 1st to the 5th century, featured floors decorated with precious marbles (Carrare, Chemtou) and mosaics, as well as a peristyle. Archaeologists Fernand Benoit, Robert Ambard and Jean Irigoin identified five houses on two insulae, separated by a cardo. Despite its wealth, the site has suffered from looting by the local residents and destructive urban projects, leaving only fragments like atrium, now partially restored.

Villa Grassi illustrates the way of life of the Gaulo-Roman elites of Aquæ Sextiæ, capital of the Second Narbonnaise. Its gradual abandonment from the third century onwards reflects the demographic decline of the city, where the domus of the center were abandoned in favour of peripheral districts. The objects discovered (ceramics, statuette d'Esculape) confirm its easy residential status, while the floods of the Arc and erosion have erased part of its furniture. The site, classified as a Historic Monument in 1958, remains a rare testimony of Aixian Roman urban planning, despite the destruction suffered.

The historical context of Aquæ Sextiæ, founded in 122 B.C. by Caius Sextius Calvinus after the destruction of the salyen oppidum of Entremont, illuminates the importance of this villa. The city, first polished Gaulish under Roman control, became a peregrine city and then a Latin colony under Augustus. The northern district, where Villa Grassi is located, housed the residences of the notables, as evidenced by the five-piece gardens and the sumptuous scenery. These remains contrast with the modest houses in the centre, with clay floors, revealing a stratified society.

The excavations of the 1990s saved the remains of the atrium, supplemented by a trompe-l'oeil by Jean-Marie Gassend to suggest its original state. The site, owned by the commune, is now protected, but its fragmentary state recalls the shortcomings of archaeological preservation in Aix. Comparisons with other Aixese domus, such as that of parking Pasteur (2,600 m2), underline its exceptional character, although less monumental than the ancient theatre discovered in 2004.

The case of Villa Grassi symbolizes the challenges of urban archaeology. From the initial excavations, objects were dispersed among the inhabitants, and school projects carried some of the structures. Only the peristyle subsisted, while the trenches dug for modern foundations allowed to establish a partial plan. This case exemplifies the vulnerability of the remains to urbanization, despite subsequent restoration and development efforts, such as those carried out for the neighbouring area of Grassia, a rural sanctuary destroyed to build housing.

External links