the house of the alderman of Cabre, in Marseille
It is an emblematic building in Marseille: the Hôtel de Cabre, also known as the “alderman’s house of Cabre”, the oldest building in Marseille, has just been put up for sale. On August 26, it was priced at 1.2 million euros on the Leboncoin ad site.
Located at the corner of rue de la Bonneterie and Grand-Rue (2e arr.), this house surprised by its imposing facade and its cross windows. It was built in 1535 on the outskirts of the Old Port, on the order of the consul Louis de Cabre, an influential notable of the city. Contrasting with the surrounding buildings, it borrows from the Gothic style and the art of the Renaissance. The building originally featured on its facade armories with fleur-de-lis, a royal symbol, which were destroyed during the French Revolution by opponents of the monarchy. But, spared by the Nazi bombings of 1943, the hotel avoided demolition two years later when the street was enlarged. It was moved in a single block on hydraulic jacks and turned 90 degrees to be aligned with the streets.
The building, private, is, since a decree of May 2, 1941, classified as a historical monument with the highest level of protection. The town hall is also closely monitoring its sale, and does not exclude pre-empting the property to acquire it in the name of the city, as the report of a recent article by M Le magazine du Monde.