Cours Mirabeau

It is the main artery of the city center, along the castle, now the City Hall Like many other towns, Marignane opened this avenue according to urban planning principles that appeared in the 17th century, developed in the 18th century and triumphed in the 19th century under the Second Empire. The Cours Mirabeau dates precisely from this period, developed between 1863 and 1865 by rectifying, widening and extending the old boulevard of the "former castle" It covers an old medieval ditch that followed the rampart, filled in from the 16th century, and integrates the old square separating the hotel Covet of its large park Lined with bourgeois houses and public buildings typical of the architecture of the second half of the nineteenth century, it was decorated with plane trees in 1880 The architectural quality of the building can be seen from No. 1, which is flanked by reflections and bosses, decorated with sober and classical mouldings in the Renaissance style, and a wrought iron railing Consacrating a modern and hygienic vision of urbanism, it has hosted a monumental fountain marking the arrival of running water in the town, moved to its end in 1925, then in 1957 on the place of November 11 The Cours was named in 1883 by a radical municipality after Count Honoré Gabriel Riqueti de Mirabeau (1749-1791), a member of the Third Estate and husband of Emilie de Covet, whom he divorced after a resounding trial Today, the Cours Mirabeau is a vast pedestrian area, the setting for the main communal events: Floralies, Provencal festivals, classical music concerts, summer evenings, parades and official commemorations It connects the prestigious classical facade of the castle, the Tourist Office, the war memorial, the Raimu Museum and the recent Laurens Deleuil esplanade, inaugurated at the end of 2018 as a tribute to the mayor of Marignane from 1947 to 1995. Source Patrick Varrot, art historian - February 2021