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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The church of Saint-Julien d'Arles, originally built in 1119 under the name of Saint Anthony, belonged to the monks of Montmajour. From 1491 it housed the relics of Saint Anthony, transferred from the abbey. This first medieval building reflected the monastic influence in the region, then marked by river trade and agriculture, central activities for the bourgeois and noble Arlesians.

Reconstructed in the 17th century by Archbishop François Adhémar de Monteil de Grignan, the church was erected between 1662 and 1676 in a style combining classicism and late Gothicism, characteristic of the Counter-Reform. The works, slowed down by financial difficulties, were part of a context of urban beautification where local elites built private hotels and sumptuous churches.

Piled during the Revolution and then severely damaged by the Allied bombings of August 1944, the church was restored after the war. Disused of worship, it is now used for shows, concerts and exhibitions. Ranked a historic monument in 1941, it preserves a 17th century baroque altarpiece and a contemporary cross path by Guy Renne (1958), testimonies of his turbulent history.

The original furniture, mostly baroque, was destroyed in 1944, with the exception of the altarpiece of the golden wood choir, offered by the brotherhood of the Blessed Sacrament. This altarpiece houses a painting by Louis Parrocel (1686) representing St Julien's Hospitaller. The building, owned by the city of Arles, illustrates the architectural and cultural transformations of the region, from medieval times to modern times.

The parish priests of Saint-Julien, listed by Victor Petit between 1798 and 1932, reflect the post-revolutionary religious upheavals. Among them, the Olliviers (uncle and nephew) marked the 19th century, when the church partially regained its spiritual role before its definitive desecration. Today, its cultural use perpetuates its anchor in Arlesian life.

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