Construction and overhaul XIXe siècle (≈ 1865)
House and built outbuildings, purchased by the Baron.
25 août 2006
Historical Monument
Historical Monument 25 août 2006 (≈ 2006)
Protection of facades, roofs and painted living room.
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui Aujourd'hui (≈ 2025)
Position de référence.
Heritage classified
The facades and roofs of the house and outbuildings of the estate, as well as its courtyards, its poternes and the whole living room adorned with marouflage canvases on the ground floor of the main house (see ZN 156, placedit Laigne): inscription by order of 25 August 2006
Key figures
Baron de Coston - Napoleonic owner and officer
Buyer and realigner of the estate.
Claudius Pizetta - Painter of painted canvases
Author of interior decorations.
Origin and history
The Domaine des Thévenins, located in Bésayes in the Drôme, is a 19th century architectural complex composed of a mansion and two courtyards of common walls. The first courtyard houses a meadow, an oven, a washhouse, a dovecote, barns and stables, while the second includes a meadow and a dwelling. The walls, built in beds alternating with pebbles and bellows, reflect the local techniques of the time.
The main house, of square plan with two monumental entrances, was redesigned in the 19th century by Baron of Coston, Napoleonic officer who acquired it. Inside, a room on the ground floor is decorated with five panels in marouflé canvases, works by painter Claudius Pizetta. These paintings depict landscapes of Italy, Brittany and Normandy, as well as illustrations of the Fables de La Fontaine, reflecting the eclectic taste of the time.
The estate, classified as Monument Historique in 2006, protects its facades, roofs, courtyards, poternes and the living room decorated with marouflé canvases. These elements illustrate both the bourgeois rural architecture of the 19th century and the influence of the Napoleonic countryside on local elites. The exact address, 1520 Hermitage Road, confirms its anchoring in the Drômois landscape, between Valencia and the foothills of Vercors.
Dependencies, organised around the courts, reveal a structured farm, typical of the large estates of the period. The oven, washhouse and dovecote emphasize the autonomy of rural properties, while stables and barns attest to agricultural or livestock activity. The whole, although partially modified, retains remarkable architectural consistency.
Clauduus Pizetta, painter of marouflé canvases, remains the most associated artist in the field. His works, integrated with the interior decor, offer a dialogue between scholarly art and rural setting, characteristic of the bourgeois residences of the nineteenth century. Their in situ conservation enhances the heritage value of the site.
The listing of Historic Monuments in 2006 preserved this testimony of local history, combining Napoleonic heritage, rural architecture and pictorial art. The estate, although closed to the public according to available sources, is a significant example of the Drômois heritage of the modern era.
