Aix Cathedral
| Cathedral of the Holy Saviour of Aix-en-Provence Cathédrale Saint-Sauveur d'Aix-en-Provence |
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Aix Cathedral
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| Basic information | |
| Location |
Aix-en-Provence, France 
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| Geographic coordinates | 43°31′55″N 5°26′50″E / 43.53194°N 5.44722°ECoordinates: 43°31′55″N 5°26′50″E / 43.53194°N 5.44722°E |
| Affiliation | Catholic Church |
| Province | Archdiocese of Aix-en-Provence and Arles |
| Country | France |
| Ecclesiastical or organizational status | Cathedral |
| Status | Active |
| Website | Official site of the Cathedral |
| Architectural description | |
| Architectural type | Church |
| Architectural style | Romanesque, Gothic |
| Groundbreaking | 12th century |
| Completed | 16th century |
| Specifications | |
| Length | 70 metres (230 ft) |
| Width | 46 metres (151 ft) |
Aix Cathedral (French: Cathédrale Saint-Sauveur d'Aix-en-Provence) in Aix-en-Provence in southern France is a Roman Catholic cathedral and the seat of the Archbishop of Aix-en-Provence and Arles. It is built on the site of the 1st century Roman forum of Aix. Built and re-built from the 12th until the 19th century, it includes Romanesque, Gothic and Neo-Gothic elements, as well as Roman columns and parts of the baptistery from a 6th-century Christian church. It is a national monument of France.
The cathedral is located on the route of the Roman road, the Via Aurelia. A fragment of a Roman wall and the columns of the baptistery seem to be the origin of the legend that the church was built on top of a Roman temple dedicated to Apollo. The historian Pitton (1668) claimed that the temple had been dedicated to a sun god, basing his claim upon the discovery of the leg of a statue uncovered at the site.
According to the Christian tradition, the first church on the site was founded by Saint Maximinus of Aix, who arrived in Provence from Bethany, a village near Jerusalem, with Mary Magdalene on a boat belonging to Lazarus. Maximin built a modest chapel on the site of the present cathedral and dedicated it to the Holy Saviour (le Saint Sauveur).
During the invasion of the Saracens in the 8th and 9th centuries, the original chapel of Saint-Sauveur was destroyed.
Around the year 500, under the Bishop Basilius, a group of episcopal buildings was constructed on top of the old Roman forum, including a chapel, a baptistery and several other rooms.
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