Castle of Emperi
★★★☆☆
Location
Salon-de-Provence, Bouches-du-Rhone department, France
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Built
9th century
The Chateau de l'Emperi is a 9th-century castle built on the rock of Puech which dominates the immense plain of Crau; it is listed as a monument historique by the French Ministry of Culture.
The castle was the residence of the archbishops of Arles as well as the Holy Roman emperors. In the Emperi stayed several kings and queens of France. Francis I and his court, Louis XIV, in 1660 Catherine de' Medici came to consult Nostradamus, the famous astrologer would have predicted the throne for her three sons and the accession of her nephew, the future king Henri IV.
Together with the Fontaine moussue and Nostradamus, the castle has become a symbol of the city and attracts hundreds of thousands of tourists every year.
The castle was the residence of the archbishops of Arles as well as the Holy Roman emperors. In the Emperi stayed several kings and queens of France. Francis I and his court, Louis XIV, in 1660 Catherine de' Medici came to consult Nostradamus, the famous astrologer would have predicted the throne for her three sons and the accession of her nephew, the future king Henri IV.
Together with the Fontaine moussue and Nostradamus, the castle has become a symbol of the city and attracts hundreds of thousands of tourists every year.