Aix-en-Provence

Sister cities

• Granada

History

Aix (Aquae Sextiae) was founded in 123 BC by the Roman consul Sextius Calvinus, who gave his name to its springs, following the destruction of the nearby Gallic oppidum at Entremont. In 102 BC its vicinity was the scene of the Battle of Aquae Sextiae, where the Romans under Gaius Marius defeated the Ambrones and Teutones, with mass suicides among the captured women, which passed into Roman legends of Germanic heroism. In the 4th century AD it became the metropolis of Narbonensis Secunda. It was occupied by the Visigoths in 477. In the succeeding century, the town was repeatedly plundered by the Franks and Lombards, and was occupied by the Saracens in 731 and by Charles Martel in 737. Aix, which during the Middle Ages was the capital of Provence, did not reach its zenith until after the 12th century, when, under the houses of Barcelona/Aragon and Anjou, it became an artistic centre and seat of learning. Aix passed to the crown of France with the rest of Provence in 1487, and in 1501 Louis XII established there the parliament of Provence, which existed until 1789. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the town was the seat of the Intendance of Provence. Current archeological excavations in the Ville des Tours, a medieval suburb of Aix, have unearthed the remains of a Roman amphitheatre. A deposit of fossil bones from the Upper Continental Miocene gave rise to a Christian dragon legend.

Geography

Aix-en-Provence is situated in the south of France, in a plain overlooking the Arc river, about from the right bank of the river. The city slopes gently from north to south and the Montagne Sainte-Victoire can easily be seen to the east. Aix's position in the south of France gives it a warm climate, though more extreme than Marseille due to the inland location. It has an average January temperature of and a July average of . It has an average of 300 days of sunshine and only 58 days of rain. While it is partially protected from the Mistral, Aix still occasionally experiences the cooler and gusty conditions it brings. Like most of the south of France, Aix-en-Provence has a Mediterranean climate (Köppen Csa).

Most-observed species

• Great Tit

  Parus major Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  1,530
• Eurasian Magpie

  Pica pica (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,516
• European Robin

  Erithacus rubecula (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,381
• Eurasian Blue Tit

  Cyanistes caeruleus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,295
• Blue Aphyllanthes

  Aphyllanthes monspeliensis L. · Liliopsida
  1,258
• Common Wood-Pigeon

  Columba palumbus Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  1,188
• Grey-leaved Cistus

  Cistus albidus L. · Magnoliopsida
  1,131
• Eurasian Collared-Dove

  Streptopelia decaocto (Frivaldszky, 1838) · Aves
  1,041

Most recent

• M 2.5 — 2008-12-23
  4 km ENE of Éguilles, France
• M 2.7 — 2008-05-21
  6 km SSW of Carqueiranne, France
• M 2.6 — 2007-08-03
  1 km NE of Jonquières-Saint-Vincent, France
• M 2.6 — 2007-05-23
  9 km SSW of Carqueiranne, France
• M 2.5 — 2007-02-25
  3 km SSE of Barjols, France
• M 2.5 — 2007-01-20
  16 km NW of Port-Saint-Louis-du-Rhône, France