This article has been YEARS in the making. LITERALLY—YEARS!
I was very lucky to have been able to apply for and obtain Italian citizenship through my ancestral family line.
It was a long process that stretched over the course of 6 years, from 2018 to 2024. People who knew this was happening would check in occasionally and say things like “Oh yeah, is that still happening? It’s not dead yet?” 😑 No, it’s not dead yet. IN FACT, IT’S NEVER BEEN MORE ALIVE!
You’re reading this article now because it was, in fact, SUCCESSFUL! I am now the proud owner of an Italian passport, which affords me citizenship not just to Italy (which would have been cool enough on its own), but the entire European Union, which is a total game-changer!
Aix, like nearly everything in this part of the world, has a recorded history that stretches back well before the birth of Christ. Whenever I write these articles, I’ll always take a quick dive into the proverbial pool of history to see if there’s anything notable I should highlight… and in the case if Aix, I mostly came up empty-handed. In fact, the most interesting thing I dug up during my research—aside from the recent unearthing of a Roman amphitheater in a nearby suburb—was an interesting Medieval legend about a Dragon that supposedly sat on a nearby hill atop a pile of bones, both human and animal. This legend is interesting, because—although the presence of a Dragon cannot be confirmed—the pile of bones was known to be very real! It’s been the subject of numerous scientific inquiries to identify all of the original owners. There’s a really interesting article about this called “The Dragon at the bus-stop” that feels like it sets the scene quite well for a children’s fantasy novel.
So, with that in mind, the history of Aix feels relatively uncomplicated in my head. For all the history buffs, the history is there! But, for the rest of us, I don’t think you’re doing this place a huge disservice by just enjoying it for what it is now: a magical little place in the South of France.
There is a an urban offshoot of the nearby Danube River that snakes its way through urban Vienna where street artists have had a field day. This offshoot is called Donaukanal and you can actually walk along its banks for almost its entire 17 km length. I didn’t walk the entire length because, when you start to exit its super urban stretches, the murals start to be replaced with greenery (which is arguably much nicer than endless concrete and paint), but the stretches that I did cover were an absolute treasure trove of street art.
