The Hôtel d'Esmivy de Moissac (a.k.a. Hôtel de Villars) is a listed

hôtel particulier () is the French term for a grand urban mansion, comparable to a Townhouse (Great Britain), British townhouse. Whereas an ordinary (house) was built as part of a row, sharing party walls with the houses on either side and directly fronting on a ...

Aix-en-Provence Aix-en-Provence, or simply Aix, is a List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, city and Communes of France, commune in southern France, about north of Marseille. A former capital of Provence, it is the Subprefectures in France, s ...

Bouches-du-Rhône Bouches-du-Rhône ( ; , ; ; "the Mouths of the Rhône") is a Departments of France, department in southern France. It borders Vaucluse to the north, Gard to the west and Var (department), Var to the east. The Mediterranean Sea lies to the sout ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Location

It is located on the corner of the

Cours Mirabeau The Cours Mirabeau is an avenue and of the major arteries of Aix-en-Provence, France. Overview 440 meters long and 42 meters wide, the Cours Mirabeau is one of the most popular and lively places in the town. It is lined with many cafés, one ...

and the Avenue Victor Hugo, in the centre of Aix-en-Provence. Its exact address is 4, Cours Mirabeau.French Ministry of Culture: Pictures and captions
/ref>

History

Construction began in 1710.André Bouyala d'Arnaud, ''Évocation du vieil Aix-en-Provence'', Les Éditions de Minuit, 1964, pp. 179-180
/ref> In 1757, its facade was designed by French architect

Georges Vallon Georges Vallon (1688–1767) was a French architect. Many of his buildings are listed as "monuments historiques". Biography Early life Georges Vallon was born in 1688. His father, Laurent Vallon (1652–1724), was a renowned architect.Albert Ay ...

(1688-1767), who designed many other buildings in Aix, including the Hôtel du Poët at the top of the Cours Mirabeau. The hotel is three-story high. Its facade has two Doric columns supporting the balcony overlooking the Cours Mirabeau on the first floor. Inside, there is a grand staircase with a wrought-iron railing. On the ceilings, there is ornamental

plasterwork Plasterwork is construction or ornamentation done with plaster, such as a layer of plaster on an interior or exterior wall structure, or plaster Molding (decorative), decorative moldings on ceilings or walls. This is also sometimes called parge ...

representing angels. Its original owner was

Lois d'Esmivy de Moissac Lois is a common English name from the New Testament. Paul the Apostle mentions Lois, the pious grandmother of Saint Timothy in the Second Epistle to Timothy (commending her for her faith in 2 Timothy 1:5). The name was first used by English Chris ...

, an Advisor to the "Cours des Comptes". In 1750, de Moissac's grandson sold it to

Honoré Armand de Villars Honoré is a name of French origin and may refer to several people or places: Given name Sovereigns of Monaco Lords of Monaco * Honoré I of Monaco Princes of Monaco * Honoré II of Monaco * Honoré III of Monaco * Honoré IV of Monaco * Honor� ...

(1702-1770).Jean-Paul Coste, ''Aix-en-Provence et le Pays d'Aix'', Édisud, 1981, p. 107-108

Heritage significance

It has been listed as a "

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 collection of buildings, ...

" since January 5, 1993.

References

Hôtels particuliers in Aix-en-Provence Monuments historiques of Aix-en-Provence Houses completed in 1757 {{France-struct-stub