Palais Longchamp
Theatrical water tower and twin museum wings crowned with bronze bulls and a river goddess.
Location
About this audio guide
This guide to Palais Longchamp opens under what looks like a wing of the Louvre but is actually a giant water tower, celebrating the canal Marseille dug after a cholera epidemic killed thousands in 1835. It follows the architect Henry Esperandieu's decision to turn a water pipe into an opera set, hiring sculptor Jules Cavelier to crown it with a river goddess and tucking two museums into the wings on either side. Inside the east wing you'll meet Pierre Puget, Marseille's own Baroque sculptor, whose twisting marble figures anchor a collection that began with paintings seized from churches during the Revolution. Look for the bronze bulls hauling the goddess from the rock before you step into the galleries.
This audio guide was created using AI.
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