Museon Arlaten, Ethnographic museum in Laval-Castellane mansion, Arles, France
The Museon Arlaten is an ethnographic museum housed in a grand mansion that displays furniture, ceramics, tools, and household objects from the region. The collections document how people lived and worked in Provence across different time periods.
The museum was founded in 1899 to protect and preserve the traditional ways of life in the region. A Nobel Prize-winning writer was instrumental in establishing the institution and shaping its purpose.
The collections include traditional clothing and personal items that reveal how people in this region expressed their identity through dress and craft. Walking through the rooms, you see the objects that were part of everyday life for generations of local families.
The mansion is located in the heart of Arles and is easy to reach on foot when exploring the old town. The rooms are spread across several levels, so comfortable walking shoes are a good idea.
Early on, the museum chose to write its labels in the Provençal language rather than French, a bold choice that reflected deep commitment to regional identity. This detail reveals how the institution used language itself as a way to protect tradition.
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