Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The Château de La Colle Noire came into being in the 15th century under various names (La Colle Narbonne, La Colle Noire), but it was in 1826 that Henri-Emmanuel Poulle, lawyer and deputy of the Var, acquired it and structured the estate. In 1839 he created a post office, the base of the future castle. Between 1858 and 1861 Poulle built a house with two emblematic towers and a chapel dedicated to Saint Anne, in homage to his daughter. The estate, then a 90-hectare farm, then moved to his daughter Anne-Victoire, then to his grandson, before being ceded to industrialists in the early 20th century.

In 1950, Christian Dior acquired the property, then composed of a noble house and land cultivated in vines and flowers. He entrusted his renovation to architect André Svechin from 1955, transforming the service wing into a main entrance and creating a 45-metre water mirror. The castle, blending Provencal and English styles, becomes a place of reception and inspiration, especially for the perfume Diorissimo (1956), inspired by its muguet. Dior designed an eclectic lifestyle, combining antique furniture and modern comfort, before his death in 1957.

After belonging to several owners, including Laroche and the Tassou family, the estate was bought in 2013 by the Christian Dior Parfums. An intensive restoration is carried out from 2015, leading to its inauguration in 2016. The castle, symbol of the link between Dior and Provence, then regains its vocation of welcoming "friends of the house". Its park now houses a field of May roses, a tribute to the floral heritage of the brand.

The site is also marked by cultural events, such as the partial recording of the Oasis album Standing on the Shoulder of Giants in 1999. The chapel of Sainte-Anne, still consecrated, and the chapel of Saint-Barthélémy de Montauroux, offered by Dior to the commune in 1953, testify to the religious and family heritage of the estate.

The architecture of the castle, between bastide of the eighteenth century and Provencal villa of the 1950s, reflects the influences of Dior: exposed stone, Provencal calade in pink winds, and enlarged perspectives. The interiors, decorated with furniture of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, illustrate its eclecticism, between Provence, Normandy and England. The domain remains an emblematic place of perfumed creation, anchored in the "grand pays grassois".

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