| Hôtel de Caumont | |
| Building Type: | Hôtel particulier |
| Address: | 1 rue Joseph Cabassol |
| Location Town: | Aix-en-Provence |
| Location Country: | France |
| Completion Date: | 1742 |
| Architect: | Georges Vallon |
The Hôtel de Caumont is a listed hôtel particulier in Aix-en-Provence in France.
It is located at 1 rue Joseph Cabassol, in the Quartier Mazarin of Aix-en-Provence.[1]
It was designed by architects Robert de Cotte (1656–1735) and Georges Vallon (1688-1767), and built from 1715 to 1742 for François Rolland de Réauville de Tertulle, the Marquess of Cabannes.[1] [2] Sculptors Jean-Baptiste Rambot and Bernard Toro designed the atlas.[1] Inside, the entrance has an indoor fountain, with two sets of stairs: one for the family, and another one for the staff.[1]
The hotel was inherited by Jean-Baptiste-François de Tertulle, son of François Rolland de Réauville de Tertulle.[2] Upon his death, his widow sold it to François de Bruny de la Tour d'Aigues (1690-1772).[1] [2] It was inherited by his son, the Marseilles shipowner (1724-1794), who served as the Président à mortier of the Parlement of Aix-en-Provence.[1] He bequeathed it on to his son Marie Jean Joseph (1768-1800), who again passed it to his sister, Pauline de Bruny de la Tour d'Aigues (1767-1850), who had married Amable-Victor-Joseph-François de Paule de Seytres de Caumont (1764-1841), the Marquess of Caumont, in 1796.[1] [2] He was accused of "stealing the most beautiful hôtel particulier from Provence by this marriage," as a street sign outside the hotel suggests. The marriage was childless, and the hotel was bequeathed to one of Pauline's cousins.[2]
In 1964, General Isembart sold it to the city of Aix.[2] They rented it out to La Poste, the postal service in France.[2] From 1970 to 2013, it was home to a music school, the Conservatoire Darius Milhaud.[2] [3] [4]
It has been listed as a monument historique since 1990.
Hôtel de Caumont was purchased in 2013 by Culturespaces[5] for €10 million. Over the next two years it underwent extensive refurbishing, and reopened to the public on May 6, 2015,[6] as a paid attraction and cultural space, exhibiting sections of the house and garden as they were in their prime, along with a gift shop, art exhibition space, and a small theater.[7]