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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Place d'Albertas, located in the centre of Aix-en-Provence, owes its name to an illustrious Aixese family from Italy. Located in Provence since the 14th century, Albertas were among the local elites in the 18th century. The square was designed as a setting for their private hotel, reflecting their social power and taste for Parisian urbanism.

The history of the square began in 1724, when Marquis Henri Reynaud of Albertas, first president of the Court of Accounts of Provence, entrusted architect Laurent Vallon with the renovation of his hotel. Between 1735 and 1741 he acquired and demolished the neighbouring houses to clear the space. His son, Jean-Baptiste d'Albertas, built an elegant square between 1745 and 1746, designed by Georges Vallon, his father's successor. Four hotels with uniform facades and iron balconies frame this slightly trapezoidal space.

In the 19th and 20th centuries, the square evolved with the addition of a fountain in 1862, then with a metallic ornamentation in 1912, made by the students of the School of Arts and Crafts of Aix. Since 2000, its facades, fountain and soil have been classified as historical monuments, preserving this unique testimony of ambitious private urbanism.

Buildings bordering the square (#9-15 Espariat Street) illustrate the architectural harmony sought by the Albertas. Their legacy continues through this ensemble, a symbol of the influence of a family and of a time when Aix-en-Provence affirmed itself as a major cultural and political home in Provence.

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