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Origin and history

Casa Xanxo is a Gothic residence built in Perpignan in the early 16th century, between 1506 and 1508 by Bernat Xanxo, a wealthy draper merchant. It was erected on the site of four houses acquired and demolished for this project. The facade, typical of Catalan Gothic style enriched with reborn elements, features a carved marble portal, a frieze symbolizing the Seven Capital Sins, and prominent bosses. Originally, the house included a main building body with a large reception room on the first floor, wings now missing, and a traffic gallery surrounding a patio, partially destroyed in the 19th century.

The house changed owners several times over the centuries. In 1530 she passed to the family of Llupià through the marriage of Angela Xanxo with Francesc de Llupià, Royal Prosecutor of the Counties of Roussillon and Cerdagne. During the Segador War (1640-1659), Joan de Llupià, a Spanish supporter, saw his property confiscated before it was restored by the Treaty of the Pyrenees. The house will then house personalities such as Nicolas Perrenot de Granvelle (1537) or the Duke of Cardona (1640), who died there. Sold in 1666, it barely escaped destruction in the 18th century thanks to the abandonment of a private hotel project.

Between 1803 and 1919, the Casa Xanxo became the seat of the Masonic Lodge of the Union, then of the Circle of the Union, a social association. Major changes took place during this period, including the addition of a northern wing and the development of a large neo-Gothic hall in 1873. Repurchased by the city of Perpignan in 2000 after a century of private property, the monument retains remarkable elements such as its medieval frieze, its curved vaults, and a monumental fireplace. Ranked a Historic Monument in 1919, it bears witness to Perpignan's social and architectural history.

The architecture of the Casa Xanxo combines Catalan Gothic influences (portal, windows) and renaissants (bossages, decorations). The street façade, decorated with a frieze with moralizing scenes inspired by the Cavalcade des vices, was partially altered in the 18th century by the piercing of windows. Inside, the vaulted vestibule and ribbed rooms recall its initial use as a commercial residence and reception place. Recent research has helped to reconstruct its evolution, from its construction to its Masonic and worldly uses.

Casa Xanxo also embodies the region's political upheavals. Confiscated during the Revolution, it was returned to the Llupià after the Treaty of the Pyrenees (1659), then sold to the family of Foix-Béarn. Its history reflects the Franco-Spanish tensions in Roussillon, as well as the social ascent of merchants like Bernat Xanxo, a key player in the linen trade in Perpignan. Today, it remains a symbol of the medieval and reborn civil heritage of the city.

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