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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The Casa Julià, also known as the Julia House, is a medieval patrician residence located in Perpignan, in the historical district of the parish of Saint John, rue Fiabriés den Nabot. Built in the second half of the 14th century, it originally belongs to the bourgeois Julià family and embodies the Catalan Gothic style, with architectural elements such as a portal in bichrome marble (rose de Villefranche-de-Conflent and grey-blue of Baixas) and an inner courtyard with galleries decorated with carved columns and capitals. The house consists of two bodies of buildings organized in L around a square courtyard, with a tower to the northwest and a rectangular house, all distributed on three levels.

The history of the house is marked by major transformations. Attributed to architect Joseph Nabot (whose name inspired that of the street), she passed into the hands of the Julia family in the nineteenth century: François Julia owned it in 1839, then her son Jean until 1879, followed by Léon Julia, who undertook important work in debt to the family. Auctioned in 1907, it was bought by Henri Jonquères d'Oriola in 1910, who kept it for 70 years before reselling it. Ranked a Historic Monument in 1889, the house underwent restorations in 1882, 1913 and the 20th century, aimed at regaining its medieval character, although some elements (such as the painted ceilings or the 18th century stairway) bear witness to later periods.

The interior decorations of Casa Julià are particularly remarkable. The large room houses a painted ceiling with white and black floral motifs, made with a stencil with a realistic depth effect, while the ravens and solives have bright colours (red, blue, brown). The patio features sculpted capitals comparable to those of the Santa Anne cloister in Barcelona, mixing Romanesque and Gothic influences. Archaeological excavations (2001) and dendrochronological analyses reveal traces of a 13th century building and successive developments in the 15th, 16th and 18th centuries, including the addition of a wrought iron staircase decorated with volutes, replacing a large medieval degree.

The house also illustrates the social changes of Perpignan: aristocratic residence in the Middle Ages, it becomes a rental building in the 19th century, with internal divisions (the large medieval room is split into three rooms). The restorations of the 20th century, sometimes controversial (such as copies of columns), reflect a desire to preserve a heritage threatened by abandonment and maintenance costs. Today, Casa Julià remains a rare testimony of Catalan Gothic civil architecture, despite the shortcomings in the precise dating of certain elements.

Its typical Mediterranean spatial organization, with a central courtyard and galleries, recalls the patrician homes of the region. Local materials (marbres, bricks) and decorative techniques (paintings, sculptures) underline its anchoring in the artistic and artisanal context of Perpignan, then cultural crossroads between Catalonia and Languedoc. Gargoyles, box ceilings and polychrome mouldings demonstrate exceptional craftsmanship, preserved despite historical vicissitudes.

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