Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Château de Parentignat, located in the Puy-de-Dôme in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, came into being in 1707 when Jean-Antoine de Lastic, Prior of Bredon, and his nephew François II de Lastic acquired the domain of the heirs of Maximilien de Sommyèvre. At the time, the building, in poor condition, presented itself as a quadrilateral flanked by four towers. Between 1710 and 1714, Anne-François II de Lastic, who had become sole proprietor, launched a major work campaign: he bought the adjacent village (170 signed contracts), integrated a 15th century strong house in the left wing, and erected a body of central houses decorated with a triangular pediment. The French gardens, the terrace bordered by a balustrade, and the stables date from this period.

Lastic's family deeply marks the history of the castle. Anne-François III, a military lieutenant-general in 1762, renovated him between 1768 and 1770 after two decades of abandonment. In 1771 the Marshal of La Fayette stayed there. His son, Anne-François IV, returned in 1779 to complete the interior arrangements (marble staircase of Nonette, redesigned apartments) and to create a "Trianon" near the mill. Open to revolutionary ideas, he became commander of the National Guard in 1792, but died in 1794. The castle, spared by the Revolution, even houses a saltpetre factory.

In the 19th century, Joseph de Lastic and his wife Octavie, chamberlain and lady of the palace of the Empress Josephine, transformed the "French" gardens into an "English" park and planted a tulip tree offered by Josephine. Nicknamed "Petit Versailles auvergnat" by Henri Pourrat, the castle was listed as a Historic Monument in 1972. Georges de Lastic (1927–1988) and his wife Françoise restored the building in the 1970s–90s, reopening the site to the public in 1994. Today, it houses the Georges de Lastic collection, one of the richest private sets of French paintings of the 17th and 18th centuries.

The architecture of the castle combines classical symmetry and medieval heritages: three levels (including Mansart attices), an honorary courtyard framed with two wings with round towers, and a facade is fifteen spans opening onto a terrace. The interior, preserved since the 18th century, preserves its original furniture, woodwork, and decorations (library, ballroom, Louis XVI boudoir). The outbuildings, including the 18th century stables, complete this remarkable ensemble, still owned by the Lastic family after twelve generations.

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