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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The Cottereau Hotel is a private hotel located in the historic Old Towers district, at 7 rue des Trois-Ecritoires. Built in the 15th century, it was profoundly redesigned in the 16th century by the Cottereau family, an influential lineage that provided several mayors to the city. Its entrance hall, decorated with a sculpted stone ceiling typical of the François I era, and its door on courtyard, framed with pilasters with capitals, illustrate the architectural fascist of the Renaissance. A bust integrated with the triangular tympanum of the door could represent Claude Cottereau, canon protected by Cardinal du Bellay.

The Cottereau family, notably Guillaume Cottereau (squire, seigneur du Vivier and minister of François Ier) and his wife Marie Quetier, marked the hotel with its emblems: lizards, clovers, suns and roses, visible on the box ceilings of the lateral corridor (dated 1534-1535). The front body of the court recalls that of the hotel Gouin, another emblematic towering residence. The semi hors-oeuvre staircase and successive elevations reflect the adaptations of the building over the centuries. The hotel changed hands in the 18th century, passed between those of Pierre Petit-Jean (director of the Monnaie de Tours) in 1730 and Michel Gilles in 1757.

The Cottereau Hotel has been a historic monument since 13 July 1926 and owes its protection to its entrance hall, courtyard door and adjoining porch. These elements, characteristic of Renaissance civil architecture, make it a valuable testimony of the Tourangeau heritage. Historian Louis-Auguste Bosseboeuf (1913)'s research helped document his history, including the link between the carved bust and Claude Cottereau, a local religious figure. Today, the hotel remains a remarkable example of the influence of bourgeois families on the planning of Renaissance Tours.

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