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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

Larnagol Castle, located in the eponymous village of the Lot, has its origins in a medieval castrum with remains from the 11th to the 14th century. Before 1624, Charles de Cazilhac, Baron de Cessac, became a vicomte before his son, François, sold the land in 1638 and a ruined castle to Pierre de Laporte, magistrate of Figeac. The Laporte, lords until the Revolution, radically transformed the site: the "superior castle" (medieval) became outbuildings, while the "lower castle" was rebuilt between 1705 and 1729 under the direction of Jean de Laporte, with a monumental staircase and Regency decorations attributed to the Italian stuccotor Marc Orsini.

In 1780 Paule de Laporte married Étienne-Trophime de Seguin, Marquis de Reyniès, transmitting the castle to this family until 1840, when it was sold to Louis-Victor Benech. The estate was then fragmented: the commune acquired the "superior castle" in 1870 to set up town hall and schools, while the "lower castle" passed into the hands of Saint-Chamarand, the Gimberge (vectors), and Raymond Subes in 1924. This Parisian painter enriches the castle at the beginning of the 20th century, before its inscription in historical monuments in 2001 for its architectural elements of the 13th, 18th and 20th centuries.

Medieval remains include a flat buttress tower (XIIth–XIIIth century), gelatinous berries (XIIIth–XIVth century) and a 15th century belfry. The "lower castle", rebuilt in the eighteenth century, preserves an interior decoration Regency and columns acquired in 1768–71 from the castle of Saint-Sulpice. The ensemble illustrates the evolution of a Quercynian seigneury, from the feudal Laporte to the 20th century artisans, and the magistrates and winemakers who have marked its history.

The site, now protected, bears witness to rare architectural stratifications: from primitive castrum to Laporte modernization campaigns (scaling ramp-on-rampe, stuccos), to Subes interventions. The archives also mention seigneurial rights (common basket, toll on the Lot) and links with Figeac, highlighting its economic and social role in the Haut-Quercy.

Historical sources are based on local monographs (Edmond Albe), archaeological bulletins (Valérie Rousset) and heritage inventories. The castle, open to the visit, remains an emblematic example of the adaptation of regional elites to political (Rvolution) and artistic (Art Nouveau via Subes).

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