Why go
The history gives context to the contrast between Roman traces at Saint-Sauveur and the later mansions and civic buildings of central Aix. Its long association with learning and law also explains a city shaped by institutions as well as by the counts of Provence, rather than by a single surviving monument.
The full story
The Roman consul Sextius Calvinus founded Aix in 123 BC after the destruction of nearby Entremont. Its name, Aquae Sextiae, linked the settlement to its springs and its founder. That beginning helps explain why Roman remains recur beneath later buildings, including the cathedral complex. Aix became the capital of Provence in the Middle Ages and grew as an artistic and intellectual centre after the 12th century. A university received a royal charter from Louis II of Anjou in 1409, establishing a tradition of learning that forms part of the city’s identity. Provence passed to the French crown in 1487. Louis XII established the parliament of Provence in Aix in 1501; it lasted until 1789. These successive religious, political and legal roles help explain the concentration of substantial buildings in the historic centre.