The Roquefavour Aqueduct (french: Aqueduc de Roquefavour) is an aqueduct in

Ventabren Ventabren () is a commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône department in southern France. Location It is close to Aix-en-Provence, and only away from Coudoux and Velaux. History The villages dates back to 920-940 AD, when Guillaume I, Count of Pr ...

, near

Aix-en-Provence Aix-en-Provence (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Ais de Provença in classical norm, or in Mistralian norm, ; la, Aquae Sextiae), or simply Aix ( medieval Occitan: ''Aics''), is a city and commune in southern France, about north of Marseille. ...

Bouches-du-Rhône Bouches-du-Rhône ( , , ; oc, Bocas de Ròse ; "Mouths of the Rhône") is a department in Southern France. It borders Vaucluse to the north, Gard to the west and Var to the east. The Mediterranean Sea lies to the south. Its prefecture and large ...

, France. The aqueduct was first planned in 1565, but it was not realized until the 19th century. It was designed by

Jean François Mayor de Montricher Jean François Mayor de Montricher (otherwise Frantz Mayor de Montricher) (19 April 1810 – 28 May 1858) was a Swiss engineer. He designed the Roquefavour Aqueduct, near Aix-en-Provence in France, and drained the Fucine Lake in Central Italy. Bi ...

, built between 1841 and 1847, and is the largest stone aqueduct in the world. It was designated as a "''

monument historique ''Monument historique'' () is a designation given to some national heritage sites in France. It may also refer to the state procedure in France by which National Heritage protection is extended to a building, a specific part of a building, a coll ...

''" (national heritage site) in 2002.

Location

The aqueduct is located near Aix-en-Provence. It can be reached via the D64 road. It crosses the

Arc ARC may refer to: Business * Aircraft Radio Corporation, a major avionics manufacturer from the 1920s to the '50s * Airlines Reporting Corporation, an airline-owned company that provides ticket distribution, reporting, and settlement services * ...

river in Ventabren.

History

The idea of the aqueduct was first envisaged by

Adam de Craponne Adam de Craponne (; 1526–1576) was a French engineer. He built the eponymous Canal de Craponne to irrigate the ''Désert de la Crau''. He was poisoned while fortifying Nantes for King Henry III of France during the French Wars of Religion Earl ...

, an engineer from

Salon de Provence Salon-de-Provence (, ; oc, label= Provençal Occitan, Selon de Provença/Seloun de Provènço, ), commonly known as Salon, is a commune located about northwest of Marseille in the Bouches-du-Rhône department, region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d' ...

, in 1565. After the drought of 1834 and the subsequent cholera epidemics, the idea resurfaced. Maximin-Dominique Consolat (1785-1858), who served as the Mayor of

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...

from 1832 to 1843, championed the idea. He hired engineer

(1810–1858) to design it. Its construction took six years, from 1841 to 1847. It took 5,000 labourers, including 300 stone-cutters, and it cost 3,800,000 French francs. It is 83 metres high, 375 metres long, and the foundations are 9 to 10 metres deep. The aqueduct brings water ( Canal de Marseille) from the

Durance The Durance (; ''Durença'' in the Occitan classical norm or ''Durènço'' in the Mistralian norm) is a major river in Southeastern France. A left tributary of the Rhône, it is long. Its drainage basin is .Palais Longchamp The Palais Longchamp is a monument in the 4th arrondissement of Marseille, France. It houses the Musée des beaux-arts and Muséum d'histoire naturelle de Marseille. The surrounding Longchamp Park (French: ''Parc Longchamp'') is listed by the Fr ...

, all the way to

La Ciotat La Ciotat (; oc, label= Provençal Occitan, La Ciutat ; in Mistralian spelling ''La Ciéutat''; 'the City') is a commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in Southern France. It is the southeasternmo ...

. The water began to flow on 30 June 1847. On 30 September 1852, Emperor

Louis Napoléon Bonaparte Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A nephew ...

awarded Jean François Mayor de Montricher the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon, ...

for his work. It was later photographed by renowned photographer

Édouard Baldus Édouard Baldus (June 5, 1813, Grünebach, Prussia – 1889, Arcueil) was a French landscape, architectural and railway photographer. Biography Early life Édouard-Denis Baldus was born on June 5, 1813, in Grünebach, Prussia. He was originally ...

. On 12 September 1992 the 150th anniversary of the aqueduct was celebrated. The ceremony was attended by

Jean-Claude Gaudin Jean-Claude Gaudin (; born 8 October 1939) is a French politician for The Republicans. He served as the Mayor of Marseille from 1995 to 2020. He was a member of the National Assembly of France from Bouches-du-Rhône from 1978 to 1989 and has be ...

(Senator and President of the Conseil Régional), Lucien Weygand (the President of the Conseil Général of Bouches-du-Rhone),

Robert Vigouroux Robert Vigouroux (21 March 1923 – 9 July 2017) was a French politician and writer. He was the Mayor of Marseille (the second largest city in France) from 1986 to 1995, and a French Senator for the Bouches-du-Rhone from 1989 to 1998.'Municip ...

(Senator and Mayor of Marseille),

Jean-François Picheral Jean-François Picheral (born 26 February 1934, in Nîmes) is a French Socialist politician. He served as a member of Mayor of Aix-en-Provence from 1989 to 2001, and as a French Senator from 1998 to 2008. Biography He was born on February 26, 19 ...

(Mayor of Aix-en-Provence), Bertrand Dauberlieu (President of the

Société des Eaux de Marseille Société des Eaux de Marseille is a French water distribution company in Marseille and sixty districts throughout Provence. It is a subsidiary of Veolia. History On October 28, 1938, a department store on the Canebière caught fire.

Heritage significance

The aqueduct has been a ''

'' ( en, national heritage site) since 2002.

Bibliography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aqueduc de Roquefavour Buildings and structures in Aix-en-Provence Monuments historiques of Aix-en-Provence Aqueducts in France Infrastructure completed in 1847 1847 establishments in France

Location

History

Heritage significance

See also

Bibliography

References