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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The Hotel de Grimaldi-Régusse is an emblematic mansion of the Baroque-Aixian style, located at 26 rue de l'Opéra in Aix-en-Provence. Built between 1675 and 1680 in the Villeneuve district, then growing, it was commanded by Antoine de Laurans de Peyrolle, provost general of the Maréchain, for the president of the Parliament of Provence, Charles de Grimaldi-Régusse. The building is distinguished by its compact plan between street and garden, breaks with the Parisian model in U, and embodies the culmination of Aixian civil architecture of the second half of the 17th century.

The design of the hotel was entrusted to architect Louis Jaubert, already author of the Boyer-d'Eguilles hotel. Jaubert has a sober but elegant facade, framed by canned pilasters and rhythmized by six bays of windows, marking an evolution towards a balanced classicism. The major work was carried out by master masons Barthélémy, Jean and Jean-Pierre Ausselet, while the frame was entrusted to Claude and Joseph Boyer, craftsmen who had also worked on the Boyer-d'Éguilles hotel.

Ranked a historic monument in 1973, the hotel illustrates the prestige of Provencal judicial elites under Louis XIV. Its architecture, both innovative and measured, reflects the authority of its sponsor and is part of the urban renewal of Aix-en-Provence. The sources also mention architects Thomas Veyrier and Sébastien Barras as associate masterpieces, although their exact role is not detailed.

The building, now protected, bears witness to the collaboration between aristocracy and local artisans to create a masterpiece of the Aixian heritage. Its location in the then modern Villeneuve district underlines its pioneering character in the urbanization of the city. Protected elements include the entire old structure, cadastralized under reference L 1688.

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