The austere medieval fortress was transformed into a pleasure castle by the end of the 15th century.e century by Left-handed Adhemar, Baron of Grignan. His son Louis AdhémarThe governor of Provence commissioned the majestic Renaissance façade, punctuated by windows, pilasters, and columns. This marked the first golden age of the château: the Adhémar family were powerful in Provence, and the building became one of the most beautiful. Palace Renaissance from southeastern France.
Two centuries later, the Count of Grignan, François de Castellane Adhémar de Monteil, lieutenant general of King Louis XIV in the government of Provence, had a new entrance built befitting his position: he pierced a large door in the south façade, leading to the main courtyard. This was the period of the "royal château," which saw the birth of the famous correspondence between Madame de Sévigné and daughter Françoise, Countess of Grignan.
Dismantled during the French Revolution, the iconic facade of the castle was restored by Marie Fontaine, the last great lady of Grignan, owner of the premises from 1912 to 1937
Claire MatrasDuring the expansion and embellishment work on the castle at the end of the 17th centuryethe count François de Castellane Adhémar de Monteil had a vestibule built opening onto the new main courtyard, on the site of a place reserved for the "Lissive" (laundry room) and the old kitchen. It rivals the finest entrances of the private mansions of Aix-en-Provence.
On the mezzanine level is the pantry, a vestige of the medieval layout. This vaulted room is located between the kitchens, where a large staff is busy, and the areas where meals are served.
This large hall of the Renaissance castle, located on the main floor, is situated at the heart of the south wing, which it serves as its access point. From the 17th century onwardse century, it opens onto the main facade and the courtyard of honor.
It serves as a shared anteroom for the two apartments located on either side, whose adjoining rooms follow an order of increasing privacy. From the anteroom, guests proceed to the bedroom and then the study, a private space. On one side (west) is the restored apartment of Marie FontaineOn the other side (east) unfolds the apartment that the Countess Françoise de Grignan the 17e.
Blaise Adilon
Blaise AdilonUpon acquiring the castle in 1912, Marie Fontaine She had a project to raise the illustrious Adhémar residence from ruins. From 1912 to 1937, she undertook a colossal reconstruction and restoration project of the building, inspired by the splendor of the Grand Siècle and influenced by the tastes of her time.
She established her private apartments in a wing of the castle, comprising a living room, a bedroom, and a bathroom (now gone). The bedroom exudes the bourgeois charm of a private country apartment, with subtle neoclassical touches. The striped, moiré-effect wallpaper was installed in the 1920s, according to the owner's taste. A cornice composed of a garland of undulating ivy encircles the ceiling of this room: the four corners are adorned with arrows, quivers, hunting horns, and other knots drawn from the neoclassical ornamental vocabulary.
Eager to anchor her castle in the history of the Adhémar family and in the history of France, Marie Fontaine She decorated the ceilings of her reception rooms with paintings that evoked the great men of Grignan and the prestige of the kings. She named the salon "François I"er ", in memory of the King of France's visit to Grignan Castle in 1533. She had the ceiling adorned with the salamander, the emblem of the French Renaissance king, and the doors sculpted with the royal cipher. The cipher of the King of France also held the interest, for the Lady of Grignan, of being identical to the initial of her name: what a prestigious analogy!"
In this tower of the 13the century, featuring a French window and an elegant balcony from the 17th centurye century Marie Fontaine She appreciates his work bathed in a majestic landscape. She completes the interior decoration with ornaments that remind her of the Italy she loves, such as the eight-armed crown chandelier, which she commissioned from Luciano Zalaffi, a Sienese wrought iron craftsman.
Blaise Adilon
Blaise AdilonOn the main floor, in the former medieval keep, this room is the heart of the apartment of the Countess Françoise de Grignan, daughter of the Marquise de Sévigné. Shortly after her arrival in Grignan, in November 1672 she commissioned a domestic inventory which described for her room: "a blue taffeta tapestry with black stripes, an angel bed with eight armchairs and four chairs of the same taffeta, the window curtains of the same taffeta".
This room evokes the taste of the 17th century.e century for "furniture". The same fabric was chosen to cover all the decor and furnishings of a room: the walls, the curtains, the doors, the bed, and the chairs. From one season to the next, the furnishings could vary, and the light fabrics of summer gave way to thicker fabrics for the harshness of winter.
The hostess receives a select group of guests. They take their places on chairs arranged around the bed, in a space known as "the alley." They converse, and each can shine with their wit.
Adjoining the bedroom, the study is the most secluded room in the apartment. Located in the southeast tower of the castle, it was dedicated to study and prayer. A staircase likely connected the room to the upper floor until the so-called "Prelates' Façade" was built. The apartment of the Countess Françoise and the one reserved for Madame de SevigneDuring his stays in Grignan, they were able to communicate.
The room also served as a cabinet of curiosities or paintings. Four portraits, executed at the end of Louis XIV's reign and the beginning of Louis XV's, depict the grace of feminine poses and the imposing presence of a male model. The portraits are shown in three-quarter view, with the subjects dressed in court costumes of rich fabrics: lace, velvet, and satin. They bequeathed to posterity an idealized image of the nobility of the Ancien Régime.
The walls are covered with a brocade of crimson threads with a pomegranate motif on a gold background, inspired by the historical inventory of the castle from 1776.
Blaise AdilonThe former medieval "aula", or great hall of the 13the century, is the place of public life and the exercise of the seigniorial power of the Adhémar de Grignan. Louis Adhémar King Francis I was received thereer and the French court in 1533, returning from Marseille after the marriage of the Duke of Orléans, the future Henry II, and Catherine de Medici.
This is at Marie Fontaine The parquet flooring, "in the Versailles style," contributes to the regal and sumptuous atmosphere of the room. Two Roman consoles from the 1st century ADre half of 18e century, sculpted with a rich decorative repertoire, are surmounted by large mirrors flanked by sconces. The square piano from 1845 evokes the omnipresence of music at the castle since the 17th century.e century, where the Count François maintains a resident troupe of musicians.
This room becomes on the 16the century the Tournon chamber, due to the marriage of Louis Adhémar de Monteil, baron then first count of Grignan, with Anne de Saint-Chamond, niece of Cardinal François de Tournon, advisor to King Francis Ier.
Located in the heart of the main facade of the well courtyard, it is sheltered from the variations of the climate. One can appreciate Louis's architectural work, the coolness of the room and the soft light of the setting sun.
Emanuel Georges
Blaise AdilonThe staircase, which originates at the base of a square tower topped with a cupola, was the main entrance to the castle during the Renaissance. It is part of the innovative architectural design that Left-handed Adhemar built between 1495 and 1515: the entrance opens onto a straight flight of stairs which distributes the public space of the great hall, the private apartments, the gallery and the chapel of the castle (now gone).
The grand staircase is covered by a ribbed vault, still showing Gothic influence at this turning point in the 16th century.e century. Close to the Jean de Louvre staircase at the Palace of the Popes in Avignon, it is adorned with antique motifs, candelabras and medallions.
Gaucher Adhémar de MonteilBaron de Grignan, married the wealthy heiress Diane de Montfort. In the service of King Louis XI, he initiated the transformation of the austere fortress of Grignan into a pleasure castle.
Gaucher Adhémar de Monteil, Baron of Grignan, built after 1495 a gallery according to the new fashion introduced in French castles at the end of the 15th centurye century. The façade, which borrows from the Italian architectural repertoire, is modeled after the Petit Palais in Avignon. The gallery is a reception area whose portraits honor the royal family, prominent figures, and family members. Later, in the 17the century, it will be the setting for prestigious celebrations organized by the Count of Grignan.
Early 20e, Marie Fontaine She restored the gallery and adorned it with high wainscoting and carved walnut benches. She entrusted the creation of these to the Sienese cabinetmaker Carlo Cambi. Luciano Zalaffi crafted the twelve sconces that punctuate the panels. Keen to place herself in the lineage of the great builders of the château, the lady had her coat of arms placed alongside those of the Castellane and Adhémar de Monteil families on the fireplace hoods.
Equipped with a well and a cistern in the basement, the upper courtyard of the castle has been closed off since the Middle Ages. At the turn of the 16the century, the baron Gaucher Adhémar de Monteil, then his son LouisThey transformed and permanently embellished the austere fortress into a pleasure palace. Before the grand southern façade was commissioned, the well courtyard received three new façades with refined decorations. An Italianate atmosphere pervaded Grignan.
The long, ground-floor gallery, built by Gaucher Adhémar, is pierced by six mullioned windows. It is punctuated by gargoyles: these were originally sea horses that Marie Fontaine will replace, at the beginning of the 20the century, by the seven deadly sins. The two other facades receive a richer decoration, partly inspired by the diplomatic travels of the baron Louis Adhémar de Monteil in France and Italy to represent King Francis Ier.
In the corner of the courtyard, the square tower has a doorway, formerly surmounted by the arms of the Baron of Grignan. This belvedere tower, topped with a cupola, is the old entrance to the castle.
The vast paved terrace of the castle, Open to the surrounding landscape in a 360° panorama, it has the unique feature of being located "on God's roof"! It literally "covers" a church, commissioned by Louis Adhémar de Monteil under the patronage of King Francis IerThe principle was innovative in the 16th century.e century because it places temporal power above spiritual power. It is coupled with an architectural feat: the vaults of the collegiate church must support the exceptional load of a stone terrace, under which the roofs are concealed.
