Eglise Saint-Jean-de-Malte (Church of St. John), Aix-en-Provence

The Eglise Saint-Jean-de-Malte (Church of Saint John) is located at the corner of Italy Street and Cardinal Street in Aix. It is the first Gothic Catholic Church in Provence. It dates from the 13th century, probably from around 1270. The site of the church was initially occupied by a hospice and chapel of the Knights Hospitaller of the Order of Malta.

In the 17th century, the parish was integrated into the city when the town ramparts were moved south to create the new Mazarin district. During the French Revolution, the church was looted of most of its treasures and converted into a military warehouse. Not until Napoleon appeared on the scene was the church restored to the parish.

The church's interior may be seen in Michelangelo Antonioni's 1995 film Beyond the Clouds. A new large window, installed in the apse in 1858, was designed by several artists of Aix. In the upper quatrefoils, God the Father blesses Count Ramon Berenguer IV and Beatrice of Provence. Below them are three Hospitallers of Malta.

The church restocked paintings since it was re-established. There is Sir Henry Pleading with the Virgin (1687) by Jean Armelin; The Annunciation (1678) by Andre Boisson; Resurrection (1610) by Louis Finson; Descent from the Cross (1612) by Andre Gaudion; Saint Bruno (1663) by Reynaud Levieux; The Crucifixion (1820) by Delacroix and many others.