In Toulouse, the European Heritage Days are an opportunity to inaugurate a new cultural space; the opening of the Architecture and Heritage Interpretation Center (CIAP) will mark, on September 19, the culmination of a long-term project. Planned by the ministerial convention which awarded Toulouse the label “City of art and history” in 2019, the CIAP was set up in the former Jesuit novitiate.
Located at No. 17 Place de la Daurade, on the banks of the Garonne, the CIAP “Novitiate” is intended to be a place anchored in the history of the Pink City, whose route will allow visitors to follow its evolution over the centuries through the richness of its architectural heritage. The building which houses the new space is itself witness to this: installed in a complex acquired by the Jesuits to accommodate novices during their initiation into religious life at the end of the 16th century and largely remodeled in the 17th century, it became a national property after the French Revolution and was converted into infantry barracks, then into a boys’ school at the end of the 19th century. Before its requisition as part of the CIAP development, the former novitiate was used by several municipal services.
In 2020, a “heritage space” is set up at No. 8 Place de la Daurade to present the future CIAP project to Toulouse residents, while waiting to begin the work period. In total, the cost of renovating the Novitiate amounted to 2.5 million euros, financed mainly by the Town Hall, and by aid of 100,000 euros from the State.
The CIAP aims to become a reference place for understanding the history of Toulouse. Spread over two levels, the route offers an immersion through the city in different eras, focusing on architectural and living heritage. Various mediation devices, notably a large 3D model, and documentary resources retrace urban developments and the traditions linked to them. Several temporary exhibitions should follow one another on the ground floor, the first of which will be devoted to the Canal du Midi, an exceptional 17th century work, designed to facilitate navigation and the transport of goods between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, and which represents one of the significant elements of Toulouse’s history.
A program of events and activities accompanies the place, intended for all types of audiences, offering artistic practice workshops and guided tours, in the city or in monuments usually inaccessible. In addition, an advice space will be made available to Toulouse homeowners wishing to renovate their homes in accordance with the city’s urban heritage.
In 2019, the Ministry of Culture counted around forty CIAPs in France. Designed to “present architecture and heritage in an educational manner”, these spaces are part of the communities’ commitments once they obtain the City or Country of Art and History (VPAH) label. In fact, however, many labeled territories do not have CIAPs, as these establishments may represent projects of too large a scale. At the start of the 2020s, around forty CIAPs were identified in the VPAH network. The opening of the Toulouse Novitiate follows that of the CIAP “Station Patrimoine” in Évian-les-Bains, inaugurated last June.
