Contents

Emperi Museum ...... page 4

Nostradamus Museum ...... page 8

Grévin Museum of Provence ...... page 12

Théodore Jourdan Room ...... page 16

Pictures : Municipality of Salon-de-Provence and E. Fabrer / Salon Tourist Office

2 Explore our identity

he wealth and diversity of our museums illustrate the vitality of T culture in Salon-de-Provence and offer us the opportunity to explore «our identity from a variety of angles. Whether as exhibition venues or activity centres, our museums regularly become platforms for meetings, shows, lectures, family workshops, etc. Although the main common denominator for these cultural institutions is our heritage, uniqueness and excellence are, undoubtedly, some of the qualities which they offer. Unique ; because what you will discover in the Museums of Salon de Provence is without equal, whether in terms of the subjects studied or the collections presented to the public : the Museum of Military Art and History at Emperi Castle is one of the largest military museums in the world. Its collections retrace the history of French armies from the start of the 18th century to the 1st World War. The new "Théodor e Jourdan" Room offers an insight into the works of this painter from Salon- de- Provence (1833-1908) which, apart from a five month exhibition organised between 2000 and 2001, have never been presented together since 1967. The Grévin Museum of Provence, which sheds light on our regional history, is one of the only two establishments in France which share the same name as the famous waxworks museum in Paris. At the Nostradamus Museum, follow in the footsteps of Michel de Nostredame at the very site where this great figure of the Renaissance used to live. Excellence in our museums through the precious and prestigious nature of the collections, as well as the care taken in their promotion. The scenographic work undertaken in our cultural institutions serves the object as much as the message and offers keys to knowledge for visitors of all generations. The Emperi Museum and the Nostradamus Resource Centre coordinate and manage documentary collections which are open to researchers.

Culture feeds on the passing on of knowledge and this is very much the vocation of the town« ’s museums, to contribute to the promotion of our historical heritage.

Jean-Claude Fabre, Michel Tonon councillor delegated to culture Mayor of Salon-de-Provence President of Agglopole Provence, Departmental Councillor

Agenda March "Tourism and Disablement Day" April-September "The strollings" May "Night of museums" September "European Heritage Days"

3 4 Emperi Museum French military uniform conservatoire

roperty of the Army Museum (Hôtel National des Invalides) since 1967, managed the Municipality of Salon-de-Provence, the EPmperi Museum is one of the world’s leading public collections of French uniforms, weapons and military equipment, originally put together by Jean and Raoul Brunon at the start of the 20th century. The permanent exhibition in Emperi Castle (11th –16th century), presents a chronological journey from the Regency to the Great War, based on some outstanding objects. From the uniforms of the soldiers of Louis XV, to the souvenirs of Captain Guynemer, including the gloves worn by Bonaparte in Egypt and Abd el-Kader’s sabre, are just a few of the many objects bearing witness to our History which may be found there. The soberness of the fabrics and the elegance of the cut of the monarchy’s uniforms sit alongside the exuberant suits of the generals and the swordsmen of the First and Second Empire in a collection which, for more than half a century, has imposed itself as a genuine conservatoire of French military uniform.

Documentary collection open to researchers able to justify a research project. Information: [email protected]

Uniforms of the African Army regiments before the Great War

5 he Emperi collection is organised around four large themes spread over about 22 rooms. The royal army rooms (2 rooms), present TFrench weapons and uniforms from the Regency to the reign of Louis XVI, with a spotlight on the cavalry (especially hussars and dragoons) ; over the years, the rooms devoted to the period from the Revolution to the Empire (8 rooms) have become internationally famous. They provide a complete overview of the armies which travelled the length and breadth of Europe, forging the Napoleonic legend. The rooms devoted to the period from the Restoration to the Second Empire (5 rooms) present items as rare and precious as those presented in the previous rooms, providing an opportunity to find out more about less well-known periods of French history. Finally, the last room is devoted to the Great War. At the start of the visit, 5 introductory rooms guide visitors through the history of the castle and the history of French firearms and present the changes made in military dress over the past two centuries.

Uniforms of the Second Empire

6 Shako of an infantry Mounted Chasseur of the officer, Refreshments Imperial Guard, First Empire

Hilted battle sword, Recruitment poster, Ancien Régime First Empire

Emperi Museum Château de l'Emperi, montée du Puech - 13300 Salon-de-Provence Tél. 04 90 44 72 80 E-Mail : [email protected] Open everyday, except Mondays and Bank Holidays From 1st October to 15th April : 13h30 - 18h00. From 16th April to 30th September and all 'Zone B' School Holidays : 09h30 - 12h00 14h00 - 18h00. Note that owing to the time required for the visit (1h30), the ticket office closes at 11.15 am and at 5.15 pm. Discount and group rates. Guided tours for groups by appointment. Temporary exhibitions. Musée de france Educational workshops : Tél. 04 90 44 14 73

7 8 Nostradamus Museum or the home of a Renaissance humanist

his municipal museum, created in 1992, "Maison d’écrivain et de patrimoines littéraires" (Home of authors and literary heritage) sTince 2006, is set up in the house that Michel de NOSTREDAME, known as NOSTRADAMUS (1503- 1566), after being widowed from a first marriage, bought in 1547 in order to found a new family home with Anne Ponsard, who bore him 6 children. It was here that he completed all his works and that he ended his days, twenty years later, in 1566. More than five centuries later, some of his works continue to be famous ; for example, "Le Traité des Fardements et Confitures" (Treatise on Cosmetics and Jams) (1552- 1555), "Les Prophéties" (The Prophecies) (1555-1557…), "La Paraphrase de Galien" (The Galien Paraphrase) (1557) and the "Almanachs" (Almanacs) published regularly over approximately fifteen years. Following a course of action, according to which a wise man should wait until his twilight years before writing and devoting himself to passing on his knowledge, as was the case for the humanists of the Renaissance period, he even went so far as to put his life in danger in order to pass on this knowledge. The museum set up in this privileged location occupies only part of his former home and, thanks to a 45-minute audio-guided tour, offers visitors the opportunity to find out more about Nostradamus, the 16th century "astrophile" doctor, great intellect, scientist, philosopher, poet, and visionary, who mixed with some of the greatest figures of his time : Rabelais, Catherine de Médicis (below), Charles IX, Adam de Craponne…

Catherine de Médicis

9 Nostradamus "Jardin des Simples" (Garden of Medicinal Plants) "Simples" are medicinal plants which may be gathered in the hills and used "simply". In 2003, the municipality created a medicinal plant garden at the heart of Emperi Chateau, to mark the 500th anniversary of the birth of Nostradamus, since this illustrious doctor was famous for his effective medicines against the plague. The garden contains plants which Nostradamus used in his recipes, gathered together in woven chestnut branch beds; each bed forming a link with his texts : bed of jams, of cosmetics, of dyers, etc. Although originally a temporary feature, this garden has become a "historical garden", a pretext for all sorts of activities, and is freely accessible. Documents about him are available at the Nostradamus Museum at the foot of the Castle.

Nostradamus Centre Resource centre for research and the transmission of knowledge 15th-16th centuries Two steps from the Museum, in the Impasse de l'Ancienne Halle, this documentation and research centre, created in 2006, is designed to provide a scientific centre complementary to the tourism centre which is the Museum. It meets an international need expressed by researchers, acade - mics and students looking for original documents and certified sources in order to find out more, around the figure of Nostradamus , what "the transmission of know - ledge" meant during the Renais - sance in Provence. It plays host to many educational workshops (children, adults), organises training days (teachers, guides, conferences, symposiums and field trips. The acquisition in 2006, in New York, of a very large collection of original documents (from bequests) and its privileged links with Lyons Library and the Inter-University Library of Medicine, mean that, today, it is an essential link in the chain of knowledge, in the image of its master.

10 The Jardin des Simples Michel de Nostredame medicinal plant garden (Marriage hall, Town Hall)

"Les chroniques de Provence" (The Chronicles of Provence) Armillary sphere by César de Nostredame (son)

The Nostradamus Museum Museum and Resource Centre Rue Nostradamus - 13300 Salon-de-Provence Tél. 04 90 56 64 31 - Fax 04 90 56 33 45 E-mail : [email protected] Catalogue of collections on the town’s website www.salon-de-provence.fr Museum open every day from Monday to Friday , 9 am to 12 pm and 2 pm to 6 pm (public holidays, please contact). Saturdays and Sundays from 2 pm to 6 pm. Temporary exhibitions. Audio guide in 5 languages. Guided tours.

11 12 Grévin Museum, legends of Provence

stablished in the town's historic centre in 1992, near a coppice of olive trees and rosemary shrubs, the Grévin Museum devotes iEts prestigious name to the History and legends of Provence, from Antiquity to the present-day. From the Roman invasion to the Court of Good King René, from the irrigation work of the hydraulic engineer Adam de Craponne to the master of Maillane and of the Félibrige, Frédéric Mistral, and the films of Marseilles from the 1950s, this journey through time, spanning 27 centuries, is accompanied by the breeze of the Mistral and the song of the cicada and covers an omnipresent central theme : "women and water", the two sources of fertility. Legendary women, such as Princess Gyptis, progenitor of the Phocaean city of Marseilles, or women of love, such as Saint Martha during the Christian epic, the patron saint of Tarascon, and women of power, such as Queen Joan, a diplomat and aggressive dynastic schemer. These are all accompanied by a series of monarchs, members of religious orders, scientists, artists, warriors and politicians during an audio-guided tour lasting 40 minutes.

The Saintes Maries In 40AD, Jews from Jerusalem cast out Marie-Jacobé, Marie-Salomé, Martha and Mary-Magdalene, accompanied by Maximin, Lazarus and Sidonius aboard without oars. They ended up by drifting as far as the Camargue. There, they separated and set out to evangelise Provence. Good King René had their relics encased in 1458 resulting in a wave of pilgrimages which are still very much alive today.

13 The court of Aix It was in the 13th century that the future of the Provence which we know today came into being. By choosing Charles of Anjou over Raymond of Toulouse for his daughter Beatrice, Berenguer V, Count of Provence and of Forcalquier, wove dynastic ties with the Kingdom of France. In this courtly world, medieval western Christian civilization was at its zenith. The rules of chivalry were the codes of honour and of conduct.

Antoine Blaise Crousillat Born in 1814, this young linguist from Salon spent his youth studying nature and taking care of his beehives making beeswax candles in the family business at Fontaine Moussue (moss-covered fountain). Later, he became a recognised poet and a member of the Félibrige (movement for the literary rehabilitation of the language and traditions of Provence founded in 1854 at Fontségugne Chateau), Among the "Félibre de Luseno" he participated for twenty years in the writing of circle of poets the orthographic and grammatical dictionary of Antoine Blaise the Provencal language, the treasure of the Crousillat Félibrige, alongside his friend, Mistral. One-hour Inner City Tour "In Croussillat's Footsteps". Reservations by telephone (04 90 56 36 30).

Educational workshops With a view to conserving the traditions of Provence, the Grévin Museum teaches the techniques of creating a nativity scene. Educational workshops are held there every Wednesday afternoon from October to December. Annual exhibitions of small, medium and large nativity scenes from December to February.

14 Gyptis and Protis in 600 BC Laure in Fontaine de Vaucluse in 1337

Queen Joan in 1348 A. de Craponne, water in Salon in 1559

« Poudès vesita aqueste museon e escouta la meloudio de la lengo prouvençalo, lengo dóu brès de Frederi Mistral. La vilo de Seloun de Crau se fai ounour d'aculi au siéu lou Coungrès dóu Felibrige, o la Santo-Estello de 2009. »

Grévin Museum in Provence Place des Centuries - 13300 Salon-de-Provence Tél. 04 90 56 36 30 • Fax : 04 90 45 32 11 E-mail : [email protected] Open from Monday to Friday, 9 am to 12 pm and 2 pm to 6 pm. Saturdays and Sundays from 2 pm to 6 pm. Closed on certain Bank Holidays Guided tours for groups by appointment. Audio-guides in German, English, Italian, Spanish and Provencal Temporary exhibitions, conferences. 15 16 Théodore Jourdan Room Collections of the Salon & La Crau Museum

pen to the public since May 2009, the "Théodore Jourdan" room is designed to promote the paintings and drawings of Othe artist Théodore Jourdan (Salon-de-Provence, 1833 - Marseilles, 1908). In 1908, Salon-de-Provence inherited from Théodore Jourdan a collection of 19 large format canvases, as well as several drawings. The opening of a venue devoted to the work of this painter from Salon represents a return to its origins while awaiting the completion of the new Salon & La Crau Museum. In this respect, the "Théodore Jourdan" room is a gateway to the aesthetics of the painting salons in France in the second half of the 19th century, as much as to the pastoral world of that time. Flocks and shepherds on the Crau plain, around Berre Lagoon, in the hills of Marseilles and in the Alpilles and the Luberon, are Théodore Jourdan's topics of choice. This permanent exhibition, organised mainly with the collections from the Salon & La Crau Museum, has been enriched by contributions from the museum's supporting association as well as from generous private individuals.

The goatherd and her donkey, 1904, oil on canvas painting, 146 x 196 cm

17 Shepherd with his sheep in the Arles Crau, 1894, oil on canvas painting, 146 x 196 cm

Liner unloading sheep, Marseilles, 1897, oil on canvas painting, 197 x 294 cm

Théodore Jourdan Room Collections of the Salon & La Crau Museum Château de l'Emperi, montée du Puech, north yard 13300 Salon-de-Provence Tél. 04 90 44 72 80 e-mail : [email protected]

Open every day, except Tuesdays , from 10 am to 12 pm and 2 pm to 6 pm (public holidays, contact for details). Free entry.

Guided tours for groups by appointment (French, English).

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