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Key figures

Origin and history

The Hôtel du Poët is a private hotel built in 1730 in Aix-en-Provence, Place Forbin, for Henri Gautier, a commoner enriched by his office as Treasurer of the States of Provence. In 1724, thanks to the acquisition of the lands of Vernègues and Poët, Gautier erected this building on the site of an old flour mill, formerly located outside the city walls until 1656. The building, carefully decorated, blends elegance and functionality, sheltering from its construction commercial and administrative activities.

As early as 1777, part of the hotel hosted the Penet et Sure bookshop, later transformed into a reading cabinet by Terris. In the 19th century, the ground floor was diversified with an apothecary, a printer-editor (Rémondet-Aubin, linked to the Memorial of Aix), a horse-drawn carriage rental, and then a taxi office. The commercial court sat on the first floor until 1834. After that date, the apothecary Mr. Icard, first deputy mayor, became owner.

Under the Second Empire, the ground floor successively houses a papermaker (Champion), a watchmaker (Cornalis), and pharmacists (Gras, Garcin). In the 20th century, a dye shop was installed there, followed by the premises of the newspaper La Provence Libérée after 1945. The hotel, registered for historical monuments in 1987, bears witness to the urban and social evolution of Aix-en-Provence, combining architectural heritage and commercial life.

Architecturally, the hotel stands out for its three-level façade, decorated with mascarons on the first floor and feminine on the second. The Louis XV ironwork balconies, the cochère door framed with doric pilasters, and the Louis XVI stairwell at the coat of arms of the Poët family underline its prestige. The lateral facades, rue Tournefort and Place Forbin, repeat these decorative motifs, reinforcing its classical harmony.

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