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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The children's pavilion was built at the end of the 17th century by Simon Lafant (1616-1693), a senior official in the service of Louis XIV. Intendant of the garrison of Monaco, the authorising commissioner of the wars and treasurer general of France, Lafant erected this pavilion in the image of the Vendôme pavilion, marking its social rise. The building, nicknamed "insanity", became the setting for the lavish receptions, such as the one organized to celebrate the appointment of his son, Bruno-Louis de Lafant, as provincial commissioner of the troops of Provence.

Upon the death of Balthazar Simon Suzanne de Lafant, brother of the previous and provost of St.Sauveur Cathedral in Aix, the property passed under the control of the Church until 1955. In that year, Dr.Dieulangard acquired it, ending nearly two centuries of ecclesiastical management. The pavilion, its gate, its 19th-century orangery and its gardens – composed of terraces, pieces of water and statues – are classified as historical monuments in 1984, recognizing their exceptional heritage value.

Architecturally, the children's pavilion illustrates the influence of royal residences on the provincial elites of the Great Century. Its garden, structured according to classical codes, and its decorative elements (fontaines, statues) reflect the taste for the spaces of representation, typical of the aristocratic houses of the era. The conservation of orangery, added in the 19th century, bears witness to the subsequent evolution of the site, between Baroque heritage and later adaptations.

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