Musée Provençal

About the museum

The Musée Provençal opened on June 25, 1928 under the name Muséon d’Art Prouvençau. It was founded at Château-Gombert by Jean-Baptiste Julien-Pignol (1872–1970), who wanted to save the heritage of traditional Provence in the spirit of Frédéric Mistral and his Museon Arlaten in Arles. It later became the Musée des arts et traditions populaires du Terroir marseillais.

Originally the museum had only one room, the Provençal kitchen, conceived as a place of popular culture where people gathered in the evening. Today its collections comprise thousands of objects spread over sixteen rooms, including the Provençal kitchen, the bourgeois bedroom, the dining room, the Renaissance room, the santons room, the toy room and the room of costumes and textile treasures. The museum also draws on an old library of more than twenty thousand volumes and manuscripts.

The building, imagined by its founder, evokes a medieval castle. The museum displays furniture, paintings, faience, textiles, costumes, sacred art and agricultural tools that tell the story of domestic life in Provence from Louis XIV to the present day. As a privately owned association museum, it funds its restoration projects and cultural events through its own initiatives and donations.

Highlights

• Provençal kitchen with its copperware and pottery
• Room of santons and nativity scenes
• Costumes and textiles of the 18th and 19th centuries
• Renaissance room and bourgeois bedroom
• Old library and open-air theatre

Permanent exhibition

• Collections ethnographiques provençales – Provençal kitchen, bourgeois bedroom, dining room, Renaissance room, santons, toys and costumes in the château of Château-Gombert.

Founded

1928

Operated by

Association (musée associatif privé)

Admission & discounts

Price of the guided public tour: €10 per person, €5 for under-12s, free for people with disabilities.

Accessibility

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Kids & families

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Getting there & parking

The museum is in the château of Château-Gombert, 5 place des Héros.

Amenities & dining

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Events & venue rental

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