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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The castle of Serillac, located in La Sauvetat in Gers, is originally a medieval fortress built in the 13th century on a feudal motte, suggesting an earlier defensive occupation. This castle, owned by the family of Sédillac (or Sérilhac in Gascon), undergoes major transformations in the 14th, 16th and 18th centuries, reflecting the architectural and social evolutions of each era. It is marked by the wars of religion, which ravage the region and the neighbouring village of La Sauvetat, a salvation founded in the 11th century. A captain of Serillac, the nephew of Blaise de Monluc, died in 1567 during an ambush in Tuscany, illustrating the military commitment of this lineage.

In the Renaissance, the fortress was converted into a country house, gradually losing its defensive character to adopt elements of comfort and aesthetics. The castle even appears in a Count of Gascogne collected by Jean-François Bladé, where it serves as a framework for a love story between a bastard and the daughter of a noble resident on the spot. This literary mention shows its anchoring in local culture and its persistent prestige throughout the centuries.

The current architecture mixes medieval remains with classical additions. The main building, located to the west of a rocky spur, is preceded by a 17th century chestnut with a vaulted porch, leading to a court of honor lined with commons. The north and south wings, probably of ancient medieval towers, frame a narrow courtyard accessible by a few steps. The central facade, of medieval origin, is doubled in the eighteenth century by a classical entrance decorated with a curvilinear pediment dated 1744. The south wing, on the other hand, preserves interior decorations typical of this period, such as gypseries and French ceilings. The castle, inscribed in the Historical Monuments since 2002, thus embodies almost six centuries of gasconic history, between conflicts, adaptations and embellishments.

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