The manor of the Carcès count

Located at 12 rue Émeric-David, the Hôtel de Carcès is a private residence that served as a manor for various notable figures. Constructed at the end of the 16th century for Jean Guesnay, the building passed to the family de Carcès in 1612. In 1660, it belonged to François de Simiane, comte de Carcès, who hosted the nieces of Cardinal Mazarin during a visit by Louis XIV. This visit led to a local joke where an Aixois changed the "C" of "Carces" to a "G" on the main door, renaming it the "hôtel de Garces".

The property was sold in 1662 to Pierre de Coriolis and remained in his family until the end of the 18th century. Under Louis-Philippe, it belonged to the first mayor of Aix after the 1830 revolution, Ambroise Mottet, and its descendants until the mid-20th century. The building was inscribed as a historical monument on September 13, 1988.

The entrance door features woodwork from the 17th century. The layout includes stables with wide openings, accessible via a vestibule and a closed courtyard. Notably, one room on the mezzanine has preserved a ceiling with a gold background. While the Hôtel de Carcès is a private residence and not generally open to the public, visits to the inner courtyard are tolerated during business hours, and public tours are organized during the Journées du patrimoine.

The hotel sits on a street home to several other historic houses, including the hotel de Panisse-Passis, the hotel de Barlet, the hotel de Maliverny, the hotel de Monval, the hotel de Comte Siméon, the Cézanne residence (from 1878 to 1881), and the home of painter Achille Emperaire.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons