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Origin and history

The Astronome House is a 16th century urban residence located in Bazas, Gironde, New Aquitaine. Built around 1530, it is distinguished by its southern facade decorated with sculptures depicting celestial bodies and an oriental astronomer head with a pointed cap. This decor probably reflects the interest of the owners in astronomy or astrology, disciplines in the Renaissance.

The building, originally called Maison Fautoux then Maison Andraut, has three floors and rises on the Cathedral Square (#23). Its structure rests on two arched arches, reinforced by foothills. The windows on the lower floors, framed with ground chambranles, are surmounted by inflected gables and pinacles, typical of Renaissance architecture. The inner courtyard, narrow, features bays in basket coves and houses vaulted cellars, one with an ogival vault.

The house underwent renovations in the 17th and 18th centuries, but its Renaissance character remains dominant. It has been listed as a historic monument since 30 May 1990. Today it is privately owned and bears witness to the civil architectural heritage of Bazas, a city marked by its episcopal history and its role in the southwest of France.

The sources available (Wikipedia, Monumentum) underline its iconographic originality, rare for a bourgeois home of this time. The house name of the Astronome comes exclusively from its decor, without proof of a connection with a real astronomer. Its exact address, 23 Cathedral Square, and its Insee code (33036) confirm its anchoring in the historic center of Bazas.

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