The Parliament of Provence and Old Aix Museum is located at Aix-en-Provence, in the Bouches-du-Rhône.
Located rue Gaston de Saporta, in the historic center of the city, it has been housed since 1932 in the private mansion of Estienne-de-Saint-Jean, a beautiful 17th century building also listed on the Inventory. The museum was born from the will of the owner of the premises, Marie d'Estienne-de-Saint-Jean, who donated her home and her collections related to local and regional history.
Are presented in this prestigious setting pieces of furniture, earthenware, figurines, costumes, objects of companionship and works of art of high quality. Among the masterpieces on display, particular mention should be made of the characters in the form of colorful puppets of a talking nativity scene, the ensemble bearing witness to a popular spectacle of the 19th century. Also worth seeing is the Corpus Christi screen (18th century) which also evokes a very old festival long celebrated with brilliance at Aix-en-Provence. The museum also has an exceptional work of 17th century Italian art: a modello (preparatory drawing) by Giovan Battista Gaulli, a model of his project (ultimately not realised) for the baptistery of Saint Peter in Rome. A model of the count's palace, a painting by Jean-Baptiste Renaud ("Portrait of the Barrigue de Montvallon family") dated 1781, a painting of the Annunciation signed by the Liège painter Barthélemy d'Eyck (15th century) or finally a remarkable Christ crosses from the 16th century still feature in the catalog of this eclectic museum but which reflects the certainty of its founder's taste as well as the richness of the town's history...
Open every day except Tuesdays, December 25, January 1 and May 1. Price: 3.70 euros (5.30 euros for the guided tour). Free admission every first Sunday of each month. Information on +33 4 88 71 74 31.
