Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Sainte-Anne church, originally called Notre-Dame-la-Principale, was the first Catholic parish in the city centre of Arles. Already rebuilt in 1175, it threatened to ruin in the early seventeenth century. In 1613 Bishop Gaspard of Laurens, Archbishop of Arles, ordered his reconstruction. Although consecrated in 1628 under the name of Sainte-Anne, the work ended around 1630. It housed relics of the saint in a bust of vermeil and was entrusted to the Oratorians until the Revolution.

Disused after 1789 for the benefit of Saint-Trophime, it was returned to the commune by imperial decree in 1805. A lay museum of pagan art was established there in 1826, transferred in 1996 to the Departmental Museum of Ancient Art. Classified as a historic monument since 1875, it now serves as a temporary exhibition venue. Its sober façade, decorated with coats of arms hammered at the Revolution, dominates the Place de la République, facing Saint-Trophime.

In the ogival style, the church consists of a nave with five spans bordered by raised side chapels, and a narrow choir oriented to the west, surmounted by a pentagonal apse. The key to the vault bears the arms of Bishop du Laurens. The original furniture has disappeared, but a side door, accessible by the Balze impasse, overlooks the north abside. The building illustrates post-Tridentine religious architecture, mixing classical sobriety and Gothic heritage.

Its history reflects the political and cultural upheavals of Arles: a major place of worship under the Old Regime, it became a secular symbol after the Revolution, before turning into a cultural space. Its early ranking (1875) underlines its heritage importance, linked to its role in the religious and civic life of the city, from the aristocratic families of the seventeenth century to contemporary visitors.

Future

It has been used as a temporary exhibition site since then.

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