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Origin and history

The hotel of Châteaurenard is a private hotel located in the heart of Saint-Sauveur village in Aix-en-Provence, at the corner of the streets of Brémondis and Gaston-de-Saporta. Built around 1650 by architect Pierre Pavillon, it is known for its stairwell adorned with a trompe-l'oeil made in 1654 by painter Jean Daret. This decor, representing Pallas Athena and the allegories of liberal arts, impressed Louis XIV during his stay in 1660, leading the king to invite Daret to work at the Château de Vincennes.

The monument is linked to Provencal political history: in 1660, Baron Jean-François d'Aimar-d'Albi, owner and adviser to the parliament, welcomed Louis XIV, then 21 years old, for nearly two months. The king lived there on his trip to Provence, interspersed with trips to Toulon, Marseille and Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume. A wooden bridge was even built to connect the hotel with the archdiocese, making it easier to travel on the roof.

In 1727, the hotel passed by alliance to the Thomassin family, when Sexte-Gabrielle d'Aimar married Jean-Louis-Gabriel de Thomassin, Marquis de Saint-Paul and president of parliament. The whole — hotel, courtyard, fountain and fence wall — was classified as a historical monument on 10 April 1990. Today, it houses the cultural information office of the city of Aix-en-Provence.

The trompe l'oeil by Jean Daret, a Baroque masterpiece, symbolizes the encounter between the arts and power. Pallas Athena, the goddess of wisdom, covers allegories such as grammar, rhetoric, or music, while a phylacter bears the motto Virtus immortalis. This work earned Daret the title of King's Painter, marking the climax of his Aixian career before his departure for court.

The nearby hotel, the Grimaldi-Régusse hotel (known as Boyer de Fonscolombe), was temporarily connected to Châteaurenard to house the royal suite. This neighbourhood illustrates the importance of Saint-Sauveur, the political and aristocratic heart of Aix in the seventeenth century, where the residences of parliamentarians and influential families of Provence were concentrated.

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