Rousset (French pronunciation: [ʁusɛ]; Occitan: Rosset) is a commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône department in southern France close to Aix-en-Provence.
Although Rousset can be traced back to the Romans, the first written mention comes in a 1050 document, under the name of "Rosselun" or "roscetum rosetum".[3] In the Middle Ages, a castle as well as a church and chapels were built, as dwellings increased.[3]
In the 9th century, Rousset belonged to the Abbey of Saint-Victor,[3] then by 1143 the Knights Templar took over,[3] followed by the Knights of Malta in 1307.[3] In the 15th century, it belonged to Guillaume de Littera (1371-1452).[4]
Under the French Revolution, the castle was destroyed.[3]
The church was built in 1861.[3]
It is now home to a semiconductor fab and research center of STMicroelectronics and until 2014 also of another fab of LFoundry (originally set up by Atmel)
The fourth Croix de Provence on the Montagne Sainte-Victoire was erected in 1875, on the initiative of the parish priest of Rousset, Father Meissonnier, to ward off two evils: smallpox and the aftermath of the Franco-Prussian war of 1870.[5]
