all began in 1640, with a Royal Edict aimed at "locking up the poor and beggars", and the municipality decided to build the Vieille Charité to house them.
The project encountered difficulties and it took 30 years for Pierre Puget, a local child and architect to draw the plans for one of his greatest achievements. Thanks to François Puget, son of Pierre the construction lasted from 1671 to 1745.
The building received the city's beggars for more than a century until the Revolution when it became a hospice. In 1905, La Vieille Charité was used by the Army. Then, in 1922, it was used as social housing for people whose homes had been destroyed.
