Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Hotel de Forcalquier, classified as a Historical Monument, stands in the medieval heart of the city. Built mainly in the 15th and 16th centuries, it features a spiral staircase integrated into an extraordinary tower, characteristic of the civil architecture of the Provencal Renaissance. Its façade on street is marked by a monumental portal to the pied droits en bossage, surmounted by an interrupted triangular pediment, testifying to a careful aesthetic research for the time. The vestibule, adorned with a beamed ceiling delimiting caissons, houses an abundant gypsum decoration, rare preserved example of this type of ornamentation in the area.

In the 17th century, the hotel was enlarged, perhaps reflecting the social ascent of its owners or an adaptation to new urban uses. After the Revolution, the building changed its vocation: it first housed the sub-prefecture, then was transformed into a prison in 1851, illustrating the administrative and political upheavals of the 19th century. It was only from 1975 that restoration campaigns were undertaken to preserve its architectural heritage, leading to its partial inscription in the Historical Monuments in 1999 (facades, roofs, vestibule and staircase).

The protected elements include the screw stairwell, the vestibule with its gypsum decoration, and facades, highlighting the heritage value of this building. Its history reflects the mutations of Forcalquier, an ancient Comtal city that became sub-prefecture, while maintaining tangible traces of its aristocratic and administrative past. Today, although partially accessible, its current use (visits, rental, accommodation) is not specified in available sources.

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