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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Château de Caudon is a neoclassical building built in the early 19th century in the commune of Domme, Dordogne. Located on a height on the left bank of the Dordogne, it dominates the valley of about thirty meters. The estate, originally called Las Bories, was a former noble den purchased in 1777 by Jacques de Maleville, lawyer and future editor of the Civil Code. The latter had the present castle built in 1805, marking the beginning of its modern architectural history.

His son, Pierre Joseph de Maleville, built the park and built outbuildings, including an orangery, while his grandson, Lucien, a member of parliament and then senator of the Dordogne, raised the building on one floor and added two side pavilions in 1835. These successive transformations reflect the changing tastes and needs of an influential family linked to French political and legal history.

The estate of Château de Caudon has been protected in several ways: its facades and roofs have been registered since 1998, and its aisle of plane trees as well as its boxyards are classified as remarkable gardens. A monolithic chapel, located more than one kilometre east and dated from the early times of Christianity in Périgord, has also been inscribed since 1948. Finally, the entire estate was listed as historical monuments in 2015, highlighting its heritage importance.

The castle also served as a cinematic setting: in 1976, Ridley Scott shot the exterior scenes of Les Duellistes, his first feature film. This film is inspired by a real duel between two military figures from the Périgord, François Fournier-Sarlovèze and General Pierre Dupont de l'Étang, adding a historical and cultural dimension to the site.

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