A small 16th century private mansion, redesigned in the 18th century, with a walled garden, in the heart of the historic market town of Port-Sainte-Ma
A small 16th century private mansion, redesigned in the 18th century, with a walled garden, in the heart of the historic market town of Port-Sainte-Marie, in Lot-et-Garonne.
The property is located in south-western Nouvelle Aquitaine and central Lot-et-Garonne, on the borders of the Agenais, Marmandais, Néracais and Villeneuvois regions. The landscapes are extremely varied, the climate is mild and oceanic, and the region is renowned for its abundance of fruit and vegetables. The village of Port-Sainte-Marie, on the banks of the Garonne, now attracts painters and booksellers, and has been home to figures as diverse as Claude Manet, Napoleon, Queen Margot, Nostradamus and the Italian prelates of the diocese of Agen. Located 1.5 hours from Toulouse, 1 hour from Bordeaux and 30 minutes from Agen by car, with a motorway exit at Aiguillon, the town has a station from which it is possible to reach Paris in around 3 hours.
A few areas of the medieval town remain, with their half-timbered houses and mullioned windows. Built along the main road that runs upstream along the Garonne, on the city's ancient ramparts, the town centre is carefully maintained by a variety of urban developments designed to unify the architectural heritage. The house is a small private mansion with three storeys on the street side to the north and four storeys on the courtyard side to the south. Opposite the main entrance, a wide terrace runs the full length of the façade, joined by two original, timber-framed walkways overlooking an enclosed, flower-filled garden. The east gallery has a Moroccan-style lounge set in a small flat, which has three large windows; the west gallery, which is entirely open to the outside, leads to a summer dining room. The garden is closed off by a garage that can be easily accessed from a side street. Finally, two passageways under the house lead to cellars and an underground passageway, which was recently closed up. The front façade, accessible from the main street and in dressed stone, was probably standardised in the 19th century. It is open, with its ten large windows and four small ones full of little panes, or its wooden shutters painted in light green that surround an ancient entrance door, also wooden. On the courtyard side, the rear façade features a large cross window on the first floor and pink brickwork on the east side, while the west side features pointed ashlar throughout. On the ground floor, the façade is rendered white. From the terrace, a stone staircase leads down to the garden, both the terrace and stairs have simple wrought-iron railings. The building is semi-detached on its west side, and opens onto a lane via another door with access to the cellars on the east side. All parts of the house are covered with single or double-sloped interlocking or canal tile roofs.
The house
The ground floor
In the hallway, with its tiled floor, there is a library area before a wide staircase with a wooden colonnade, leading to the bedrooms on the first floor. A side storage room leads on to a large reception room, which opens onto the terrace through a French window and is bathed in light. It features a monumental marble fireplace with carved hunting scenes, moulded 18th-century baseboards, painted beams and parquet flooring. Under the staircase, a passageway leading to the toilet leads on to a long dining room, which also opens out onto the terrace through a French window. A window with 19th-century stained glass overlooks the lane. A functional kitchen, designed in the 1960s and decorated in an old style, including copper pans on the walls and period ceramics, communicates with a bedroom, a former study facing north onto the street. A washing area includes a walk-in shower, washbasin and toilet. A side door leads to the hallway. Two wings depart from the U-shaped terrace in the form of a ...
