aixcentric

Archaeologists excavating the Palace of the Counts of Provence in 2018

It was such a positive move when 3 high-resistance windows/vitres were installed in the newly paved Place de Verdun.  They were designed to let locals and tourists alike see the remains of the old Roman road into Aix, and the basements of the 12th-century palace itself, uncovered during excavations in 2018.

These vitres weren’t planned from the start but added to the project as the result of so much local interest and the desire to allow future generations see what had been uncovered.

The incremental cost was 800,000 euros which covered rain-water drainage, lighting, humidity-control and of course the special glass.

So why have they had to be replaced?

Reasons: there was initial disappointment with the lack of visibility through the glass – because it was so thick and included a check-board effect safety layer, it was hard to see what was what.

But then they were damaged. The first happened soon after installation when a group of young people, ‘avinés‘ according to La Provence, jumped as a group on one window. Remarkably it didn’t give, but was badly crazed by the vandalism.  The second one suffered the same fate but nobody saw what happened.

The recent heavy rain hasn’t helped matters resulting in condensation building up on the interior surfaces.

So, all three are being replaced and many locals are hoping also for explanatory panels nearby.

These windows into Roman and medieval Aix are a real plus for the town; desperately sad that they were so quickly and thoughtlessly vandalised.