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Origin and history

The Château de Beauregard, originally called the Fizicat house, was originally owned by the archbishops of Lyon in the 14th century. Clement V stayed there in 1305 after his coronation. The Gadagne family, including Peter and his brother Thomas II – a Lyon banker nicknamed "rich as Gadagne" – acquired the estate in 1526 and transformed it into a Florentine style. In 1564, Thomas III received Queen Catherine of Medici during a royal visit to Lyon. The castle, passed by inheritance, then passed to the Fizicat in the seventeenth century, a noble family of which Michel Fizicat, lieutenant-colonel and gentleman of the king, became its owner in 1655.

In the 18th century, the estate remained in the Fizicat family despite financial difficulties, until its sale in 1812 to individuals after the Revolution. A victim of the Terror, Jean-Baptiste Fizicat died in 1793, and his heirs finally gave up the castle. In 1945, the master house collapsed, leaving only ruins: the main building body, orangery, nymphaeus and terraces, inscribed in historical monuments since 1943. In 1978, the town of Saint-Genis-Laval purchased the estate as a public garden, preserving its French-style park and Renaissance remains.

Architecturally, the castle was characterized by a monumental entrance to the north, a Grand Garden with double flight staircase, and a Renaissance Garden Bas. The nymphae and orangery, integrated into the retaining walls, recall the Italian influence of the Gadagne. The terraces, such as Gadagne or Folie, were dedicated to the vine, which was reintroduced in 2014. Today the site mixes history and nature, offering a testimony of the Renaissance and the Old Regime Lyons.

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