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Apt en Provence

Apt, the capital of the Luberon

Vaucluse department
Population: 11 300 people (2005)

Founded by the Romans on the Via Domitia and an important town in the Roman empire (antique theatre, forum, etc.), Apt, the town of Sainte Anne, is dedicated to the mother of the Virgin Mary. Its cathedral (royal chapel, treasury, "Sainte Anne’s veil") is one of the oldest in Provence. Many pilgrimages were made in the old days to see the saint’s relics, which are reputed to make women fertile. One of the most famous pilgrims was Anne of Austria, who came to Apt in 1660 to thank the saint for the miraculous birth of her son, the future Louis XIV.

The town has always been devoted to religion, with as many as 15 religious orders housed inside its walls. In the old town are numerous chapels, as well as fountains, squares and private mansions.

Spécialités

- La faïence d'Apt

Potters are naturally part of the story of clay that is linked to the history of this area.
Local clay has been used since Roman times and, from the 13th century, the workshops on the Pont Julien provide evidence of the vitality of medieval craft production.

Around 1720, at a time when royal edicts were demanding the sacrifice of silverware for the war effort, Abbot Moulin created a faience pottery for his nephews. The Lord of Castellet, the Duke of Brancas, encouraged the enterprise.

Unusual and elegant, thanks to the “Apt marbling” technique, sumptuous pieces of fine Apt faience were produced that took their inspiration from gold-smithing forms. Apt faience reached its peak in the 18th century.

At the beginning of the 19th century, 13 potteries and nearly 200 faience potters were exporting their work to the four corners of Europe.
The rise in importance of the tile and earthenware potteries is also visible, including that of the famous hexagonal red tile, the Provençal “tommette”.

Nowadays the art of fine Apt faience lives on thanks to the descendants of the master-craftsmen and the local pottery tradition is an inspiration to the new creators of faience, stonework, ceramic, porcelain and glazed lava stone.

- Les fruits confits d'Apt

- The crystallised fruit of Apt

Apt is recognised as a "Site Remarquable du Goût", selected by the National Board of Culinary Arts for its famous speciality of crystallised fruit, for which it rightfully holds the title of World Capital.

The history of crystallised fruit:
Preserving by means of crystallisation appeared in Provence in the High Middle Ages.
In those days the fruit was candied in honey, until sugar was introduced during the Crusades, permitting the technique to be improved.

As long ago as 1365, the people of Apt made gifts of the crystallised fruit of Apt to Pope Urban V, who was on pilgrimage in their town. Later, in the 17th century, Madame de Sévigné writing in a letter to her daughter, Madame de Grignan, referred to the town of Apt as a "preserving cauldron".
In 1868, the Englishman Mathew Wood discovered this Apt speciality and promoted it on the British market. At the same time, in the 19th century, the great confectioners appeared: Jaumard, Rambaud, Marliagues, then Barrielle, Bardouin, Reboulin, Piton, Gay, Vial, Blanc, etc.

Its reputation has never faltered and the master-confectioners of Apt today continue the centuries-old tradition of the art of crystallizing fruit.

- Les ocres

- Ochre

Ochre has been known since antiquity and the Romans quarried it for local use. In 1780 Jean Etienne Astier, an inhabitant of Roussillon, added an industrial dimension. The quarries prospered until the crisis in the 1930s. Today only the company Guigou still exploits the ochre at Gargas and Rustrel and sells it in the town of Apt.

Marchés

- Farmers Market

The farmers market is every Tuesday morning from 8am to 12pm on the cours of Lauze Perret. Find local producers of fruit freshly picked and vegetables and goat cheese from Luberon.

- Apt’s authentic Provençal market

There is a market in Apt every Saturday morning.

It is rated an exceptional market due to its authenticity and the diversity of its produce.
The traveling vendors who come from all over the region are an integral part of it, offering a host of regional produce, such as goats’ cheeses or seasonal fruit and vegetables, together with imported produce that adds an exotic touch to a truly Provençal market.
Apt market, rich with colours and tastes, will lead you into the streets of the ancient Roman town of Apta Julia.

Monuments

- L'Hôtel Colin d'Albertas

Built at the request of the Consul d´Albertas in the middle of the 17th century, this palace, a gem of Provençal baroque art, dates from the visit of Anne of Austria to Apt on pilgrimage. It is located in a shady little square in the middle of the aristocratic old town of Apt, near Saint Anne’s Cathedral.
This private residence is an exceptional historic monument, unique in Provence.

The quality of its baroque interior decoration, with its opulent plasterwork, sumptuous frescoes and painted ceilings, the warm glow of gold and the masterly execution of the decorative themes place this building on a par with the most beautiful baroque French and European palaces. The quality of the work is of international standard.
The project to renovate it was awarded first prize by the Sotheby’s Foundation in 2000.

Contact: Jean Frédéric Sabatier
Visits possible in July and August from 11am to 4 pm
Price: 5 €/pers.
Groups of up to 25 people

Place du Septier - 84400 Apt en Luberon

Tél. : 04 90 74 02 40

- Saint Anne’s Cathedral

Amongst the many monuments in Apt, the most important stand out from the rest. At the very centre of these is Saint Anne’s Cathedral. A cathedral that is in fact no longer a cathedral. Apt lost its status as bishopric in 1801 and its cathedral became a basilica.

The building was constructed in the heart of the city, on the remains of the Roman forum. The lower crypt, which is still accessible, is a relic of antiquity. The upper crypt was laid out in Roman times so that the relics of Saint Anne, the mother of the Virgin Mary, could be worshipped.

These same relics had apparently been miraculously discovered on this very spot at the beginning of the Middle Ages.

The building that we see today, including one of the oldest preserved sections (the Corpus Domini nave, at the south end) apparently dates from the 11th century and was added to and restored over the centuries. Certain areas are gothic, others are classical. This listed Historic Monument is currently being restored.

Musées

- Le Musée d'Archéologie et d'Histoire du Pays d'Apt

The Apt Regional Museum of Archeology and History

A theatre forms the basis of the collections.
The Apt Museum is built on the remains of an antique theatre, set up in a fine town house (in fact the old vicarage) dating from the end of the 18th century. By 1950 Lazare, Brunel and Garcin had collected, sorted and classified the collections: they are the founding fathers of local Apt history and archeology.
There are thousands of flints, pots and coins, representing dozens of human dwelling places spread over a single territory, the Apt region, dating from Prehistory to the end of the Middle Ages. They form the basis of the old collections of the Museum.

>> For more information

- Musée de l'Aventure Industrielle

Museum of Industrial Adventure

Let yourself be guided through the history of the industrial era. The museum presents the main highlights of a real adventure that, from the 18th century and onwards, through periods of prosperity and crisis, continues to shape the history of the area and the life of its inhabitants.

>> For more information

A voir

- The Jean-Paul Blachère Foundation

The Foundation is a business foundation, whose creation was the initiative of Jean-Paul Blachère, CEO of the company Blachère Illuminations SA. Its goal is to promote exchanges and mutual understanding of culture between Europe and Africa through the creation and promotion of artistic works.
It aims to further communication and creativity between individual artists or groups of artists working to renew form and content in contemporary art.
The Foundation considers that art offers a way to make a world that is fairer and more beautiful. It works for harmonious, sustainable development that is driven by culture. As Amartya Sen, in 1998 the Indian winner of the Nobel Prize for Economic Sciences, stated, the issue is no longer solely a question of providing help with production, but to guarantee the sale of products in the international market place in equitable conditions.
The Foundation encourages the cultural stakeholders, artists, critics and students active in Africa and elsewhere with support for their initiatives. In parallel, it makes acquisitions, so permitting the work to be presented for the public to appreciate.

Centre d´Art
Fondation Jean-Paul Blachère
384, avenue des argiles
84400 APT - FRANCE

Tél. : 04.32.52.06.15
Le site de la Fondation Blachère

Evénements

• 06/02/2009 : 6 milliards d’Autres
• 06/09/2009 : Animal, anima
• 06/19/2009 : Animaux et Paysages de Namibie
• 07/04/2009 : Signatures
• 07/04/2009 : Le bestiaire de Soly Cissé

Useful addresses

- Town Hall of Apt
place Gabriel Péri
Tel. 04 90 74 00 34

- Tourism office of Apt
20, av Philippe de Girard
Tel. 04 90 74 03 18

- Sub Prefecture
place Gabriel Péri
Tel. 04 90 04 38 00

- Hospital of Pays D´Apt
route de Marseille
Tel. 04 90 04 33 00

- Firefighters
boulevard Elzéar Pin
Tel. le 18 ou 04 90 04 49 00

- Gendarmerie Nationale
route de Buoux
Tel. le 17 ou 04 90 74 00 17

- Post Office
avenue Victor Hugo
Tel. 04 90 04 42 42

Site map

Access

From Avignon by the road D900, cross Coustellet 22 km before Apt.

From Lourmarin use the D943 and cross the Luberon by the Combe of Lourmarin-Bonnieux until Apt.

Map of Apt en Provence >>

Distance from towns

Saignon > 4 km, Gargas > 5 km, Roussillon > 7 km, Buoux > 7 km, Villars > 7.5 km, Saint Saturnin les Apt > 8,5 km, Auribeau > 9 km, Rustrel > 10 km, Caseneuve > 10 km, Colorado Provençal > 11 km, Sivergues > 11 km, Saint Martin de Castillon > 12 km, Castellet > 13 km, Gignac > 14 km, Goult > 14 km, Joucas > 15 km, Lioux > 15 km, Lacoste > 17 km, Les Beaumettes > 17 km, Bonnieux > 18 km, Murs > 18 km, Cereste > 19 km, Lourmarin > 19 km, Gordes > 20 km, Lagarde d'Apt > 20 km, Menerbes > 22 km, Coustellet > 22 km, Viens > 22 km, Cadenet > 23 km, Sénanque abbey > 24 km, Simiane la Rotonde > 24 km, Oppedette > 26 km, Oppede le Vieux > 26 km, Maubec > 26 km, Robion > 26 km, Cucuron > 26 km, Reillanne > 27 km, Vitrolles en Luberon > 31 km, Fontaine de Vaucluse > 32 km, Isle sur la Sorgue > 32 km, Banon > 32 km, Cavaillon > 33 km, Venasque > 33 km, Sault > 36 km, Saint Michel l'Observatoire > 36 km, Pertuis > 37 km, Mane > 39 km, Manosque > 41km, Forcalquier > 42 km, La Tour d'Aigues > 50 km, Avignon > 53 km, Avignon TGV > 51 km, Avignon airport > 44 km, Saint Rémy de Provence > 51 km, Aix en Provence > 59 km, Valensole > 61 km, les Baux de Provence > 62 km, Les Mées > 67 km, Orange > 75 km, Pont du Gard > 78 km, Vaison la Romaine > 81 km, Moustiers Sainte Marie > 97 km, Nyons > 98 km, Marseille > 107 km, Marseille Provence airport 87 km, Nîmes > 101 km, Arles > 102 km, Saint Tropez 223 km, Cannes > 236 km, Nice > 270 km, Bandol > 126 km

Map of Apt en Provence >>