BAPTISTERY OF AIX-EN-PROVENCE

Aix-en-Provence is a Roman foundation of the Roman consul Gaius Sextius Calvin, who called it Aquae Sextiae because of the abundance of thermal springs. In 102 BC C. Gaius Marius defeated a coalition of Ambrones and Teutons who had invaded the territory. In the 4th century it was designated the capital of Narbonense Secunda and in 437 the Visigoth occupation took place, within the Visigoth Kingdom of Tolosa. In the 6th century it was sacked by the Franks and the Alamanni and in 731 it was occupied and destroyed by the Muslims, who had made the Visigothic Kingdom of Toledo disappear (507-711). Later it would be the capital of the county of Provence and in 1487 it passed to the kingdom of France. Between 1501 and 1789 it had its own Parliament.

In the 5th century the baptistery was founded on the old Roman forum, next to the cathedral, but sources speak of another previous cathedral, dedicated to Our Lady, located near the Roman theater. At the beginning of the 7th century, the episcopal complex was made up of the baptistery, the nave dedicated to Notre Dame and several annexes, one dedicated to San Maximino. Since 700 it has been the ecclesiastical metropolis and in the 9th century a presbytery was installed, separating the choir of the clerics from the nave of the faithful and the apse was rebuilt.

The Cathedral of Saint Savior (Saint Sauveur) is built on a Roman temple dedicated to Apollo. In the 5th century the chapel of Saint Maximinus of Aix was erected (according to tradition, he arrived from Palestine along with the Magdalene, on a ship owned by Lazarus of Bethany). Lázaro would be the first bishop of the city, with legendary rather than real characters).

In 500 the episcopal complex was consolidated, located on the old Roman forum. It is even claimed that the Roman basilica was the first Christian temple. The first settlement of the cathedral was located near the old Roman theater, with a dedication to Our Lady of the See (Notre Dame).

The new cathedral will have a baptistery nearby. The cathedral was built in Romanesque style, with a single nave on the southern side of the current cathedral, next to the baptistery, with a community of canons subject to the same rule. In this century the dedication to San Salvador was changed, but Our Lady was maintained on the main altar and San Maximino in the southern nave. In 1165 a second nave dedicated to San Maximino was added. At the end of the 13th century the cathedral was modified in Gothic style. During the episcopate of Pierre II, the cathedral had two naves, one for the worship of the cathedral (the current Gothic one) and another for the canons (the current Romanesque one). The dedication of the temple of Notre Dame is changed to Saint-Sauveur.

Bishop Pedro II carried out works in the temple, such as the reconstruction of the baptistery, the expansion of the nave of Santa María and other buildings. It is the time of the Romanesque. Still at the end of the 12th century and beginning of the 13th, buildings were built to close the cloister. Between 1165 and 1175 the nave of San Maximino (Romanesque) was rebuilt and between 1175 and 1200 the cloister was completed.

Between the 13th and early 16th centuries, various reforms were carried out in the Gothic style. Between 1285 and 1336 the old (Romanesque) choir was destroyed and another Gothic one was built and the transept was built, giving the church plan the shape of a Latin cross. Between the mid-14th century and the mid-15th century the works followed a slow pace due to the repercussions of the Black Death of 1348 and the Hundred Years’ War between France and England. Despite everything, various chapels were built on the North side (A. de Naicés, O. de Pennart, Sainte Catherine) and the bell tower. At the end of the 16th century, the dome of the baptistery and a funerary chapel in the choir were built.

The damage suffered during the Hundred Years War forced renovations to be carried out in the 16th century and in the 17th century the third nave was added. In the 17th century, in Baroque style, the Corpus Domini Chapel was built and the nave of Notre Dame d’Esperance was renovated. In the 18th century, more chapels were added and in the middle of the century the new organ was built. The French Revolution dedicated it to the temple of the goddess Reason and since the mid-19th century reforms and repairs have been carried out. In the 20th century, excavations were carried out and the baptistery and choir were restored (1999).

The cloister – which can only be visited with a guide – was built on the old Roman forum, at the end of the 12th century, over ten years and with the work of several carvers’ workshops, for the canons of the cathedral. The arcades of the cloister have twin columns and pillars in the corners, decorated with the symbols of the Evangelists: angel (Saint Matthew), lion (Saint Mark), bull (Saint Luke) and eagle (Saint John). The east gallery coincides with the canons’ house and shows a decoration based on the life of the Church (Constantine’s Victory over Maxentius at Ponte Milvio, Educational role in the Church), the west gallery coincides with the kitchens and cellars and It is decorated with scenes from the Old Testament (Creation, Original Sin, Prophecies, David and Solomon. The south gallery coincides with the provost’s house and the decorative themes are vegetal. The north gallery collects themes from the childhood of Christ (Annunciation, Nativity, Adoration of the Magi, Circumcision and Flight into Egypt) or of the Passion (Lavatory, Crucifixion, Burial and Resurrection). The north gallery corresponds to the cathedral. A worn marble slab could correspond to the tomb of Balilio, first bishop of the city. Historical Monument since 1840 and the cloister since 1875.

The baptistery has an octagonal plan, loaded with great symbolic value, since the octagon comes to represent the eighth day and with it the resurrection of Christ. The baptistery is relatively well preserved, but has undergone numerous renovations. It is a work from the 5th century and is intended for the baptism of neophytes on Easter or Christmas night at the hands of the bishop. Those baptized are of legal age and until the 7th century the baptism ritual was performed by immersion, reborn to a new life. The plan is octagonal, with eight columns, six of which are made of marble and two of granite. They precede spolia of ancient buildings from the Roman period. It stands on the old forum. The original decoration has been lost, except for a fragment of mosaic preserved in the SE niche.

In the 12th century the walls were rebuilt and decorated with frescoes. In the 14th century, the old baptismal font, located in the center, was replaced by another freestanding one, next to the right wall. In 1577 the Renaissance Mannerism dome was added and in the 19th century the niches were decorated with paintings of the sacraments. In 1996 the last restoration took place.

Francisco Javier Fernández Gamero for URBS REGIA

P. Coste et allí: La Cathedrale Saint Sauveur d`Aix-en-Provence. 1982.
C. Camille Enlart: Manuel de archeologie française despuis les temps merovingies just`a la Renaissance. 1919.

Les origines du baptistère de la cathédrale Saint-Sauveur.

EL BAPTISTERIO PALEOCRISTIANO DE AIX EN PROVENCE