In Hyères, in the Var region, art has broken the bank and transformed ingots into photos, sculptures and paintings.

It is a wealthy building with neoclassical architecture, with its columned porch, its beautiful terrace overlooking the chic artery of downtown Hyères (Var) – Avenue Joseph-Clotis –, its tree-lined Mediterranean garden. On the lime-coated ecru stone facade, its name is soberly displayed in metal letters: La Banque. Except that no financial transactions are carried out here anymore, which in 2021 became the Museum of Cultures and Landscape of the Southern City.

From its past, the establishment preserves, in its basement, its impressive vault, preserved in its original state, which alone justifies the visit. Each one equipped with buttons, a key, and a number, you will discover the deep metal boxes of various sizes—some human-sized—where the wealthy inhabitants of Hyères once came to safely store gold, silver, jewelry, or precious documents. Arranged in a perfectly geometric manner, this stack of vaults gains an aesthetic dimension in its new museum setting.

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