Aix always pulls out all the stops for the heritage weekend, 16-18th September, which is celebrated at towns across Europe. This year, the international theme is ‘Patrimoine Durable’ but Aix has put its own spin on the event and will be celebrating its famous waters, under the heading ‘L’Eau Notre Patrimoine’.
The ambitious programme goes from the original springs that attracted the Romans, via fountains and dams, right up to modern water management issues.
The celebrations kick off with a performance by the local Ballet Preljocaj of exerpts from their repertoire, including what else but Swan Lake. That’s on Friday 16 at 19:00, at the newly renovated fountain at the Place des Precheurs. (A different source cites this taking place at the Place de la Mairie, so maybe check with the OT nearer the time). The same evening but from 20:30, the facade of the Pavillon Vendome will be illuminated by the Atelier 3D at Aix’s Ecole Superieure d’Art, using Monumental Mapping techniques.
The following evening, Aix 100 Flammes will take place. Compagnie Carabosse will be lighting up centre ville with thousands of lights in all shapes and sizes, from the Jeu du Paume theatre to the Grand Theatre de Provence via the cours Mirabeau, la Rotonde and Les Allees Provencales.
The heritage weekend is a time when normally closed doors are opened to the public which gives
Luke Jerram’s Museum of the Moon at the University of Bristol, Bristol, UK..
Carolyn Eaton/Alamy
us a chance to visit La Madeleine, one of Aix’s historic churches which has been closed for renovation since 2007. (What a saga, read here: https://aixcentric.com/2021/07/03/aix-church-yields-surprising-secret/) It’s been chosen as the venue to exhibit British artist Luke Jerram’s 7m diameter Museum of the Moon installation which will be suspended in the nave. The surface is apparently faithfully reproduced with NASA images…but is there any water? It looks sensational plus it’s a chance to see how the renovations are going – and see the font where baby Paul was christened by the Cézanne family.
Other opportunities include visiting Aix’s new Tribunal of Justice, seeing the fountains in the gardens of private townhouses, and dropping in to talks on all manner of water-related topics, historical and contemporary.
Details here in the 60+page book: https://www.aixenprovence.fr/IMG/pdf/livret_jdp_2022_webbisok.pdfhttps://www.aixenprovence.fr/IMG/pdf/livret_jdp_2022_webbisok.pdf
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