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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

Roquevidal Castle, located in the Tarn in Occitanie, was probably built at the end of the Hundred Years War (XIVth–XVth centuries) as a defensive den. Its quadrilateral plan, flanked by round towers and lined with moat, reflects a homogeneous construction close to Mailhoc Castle. The three living rooms and the eighteen murderers or cannons underline its dual vocation: seigneurial residence and fortress. The absence of traces of the original stairway (wood, stone or screws) suggests a vertical access by a now extinct dungeon, integrated with an elevated rectangular tower.

A major Renaissance restoration campaign (late 16th century) transformed the building without altering its defences. A monumental staircase replaced the old one, aligned on the entrance but disoriented from the existing bays. The entrance door, of Renaissance style "to the antique", has a liteau in arc of circle framed with doric pilasters, while the cross windows and their cornices juxtapose disparate decorative motifs, typical of the secondary constructions of the period. The artisans mixed Ionian columns and medieval elements, preserving the eighteen shooting holes.

The castle was the scene of violence during the Wars of Religion: in 1587 Protestants massacred the garrison of Anne de Joyeuse there; Four years later, they took the castle in retaliation. Acquired in 1748 by Pierre de Thomas de Labarthe, he then declined, looted and turned into a farm to the point of losing a historic chimney. Saved in 1966 by its present owners, it was restored after centuries of abandonment. Its interior preserves a large chimney decorated with doric pilasters, whose empty coat could have housed a coat of arms or a painting.

Ranked a historic monument since September 8, 1943, the castle illustrates the architectural evolution between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Its main façade, pierced by eight china windows connected by cornices, contrasts with the austerity of its defensive walls. The stone staircase, established as a ramp on ramp, serves rooms with wide bearings, while the moat and angular towers recall its original military function. Archaeological sources (Tollon, 1982) highlight his interest in the study of late fortifications in Albigeois.

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