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Origin and history

The hotel of Maliverny, built in the 17th century in the Villeneuve district of Aix-en-Provence, was originally built for the Antelmy family of the Cepedo. Around 1650, it was acquired by the Maliverny, native to Cotignac, who beautified successively: Nicolas de Maliverny (advising to the Court of Auditors in 1655) re-invigorated the pieces of the appartment, while his son Jean-Baptiste, adviser in 1690, completed the work. The hotel reflects the golden age of Provencal baroque decorations, with painted ceilings and remarkable gypseries.

In the 18th century, the hotel was linked to notable figures such as Mabile de Maliverny, wife of the Marquis de Marignane, and their daughter Émilie de Covet, whose reputation as a "deverted" attracted the attention of Honoré Gabriel Mirabeau. The latter, who was in love with Emilia, assiduously attended the premises before their marriage in 1772 (followed by a divorce in 1783). The hotel thus became a theatre of the Aix worldly intrigues, between aristocratic legacies and scandals.

In the 19th and 20th centuries, the hotel changed hands and used several times. Sold in 1822 to Mme Icard, then bequeathed to her niece Mme Tavernier, the property was finally acquired in 1919 by Louis Hippolyte Casse, who destroyed some of the original decorations (including a carved walnut door) for practical reasons. The entrance was moved to a side door on Emeric-David Street, altering historical access through the court of honor. Today, only the carrosses portal (recasted at the end of the 17th century) and the baluster walls, registered since 1971, bear witness to its history.

The hotel's architecture is distinguished by a court of honour in truncated bow shaped form, framed by walls widened towards the main facade, divided into two buildings "in square". The first floor preserves painted ceilings and baroque woodwork, illustrating Provencal artistic know-how of the period. The portal, with a stone balustrade, marks the monumental entrance to this jewel of the Aixian heritage.

Historical sources, such as the writings of Ambrose Roux-Alphéran (1848), underline its role in Aix-based world life, between family heritages and urban transformations. The nearby hotel of Monval, frequented by Mirabeau to observe Emilia, bears witness to the close links between these aristocratic residences and the intrigues of the time.

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