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Origin and history

The Hotel d'Alamand, located in Cahors in the Lot, is a building formed at the end of the 15th century by the transformation of an older house. It consists of two two-storey building bodies, organized in squares around a courtyard closed by a terrace. A round tower, integrated with the corner of the buildings, serves the upper floors. Its carved decoration, typical of Quercy between 1482 and 1530, combines plant motifs (trees, branches), religious symbols (roses, monograms of Christ, fleurs de lilies), and geometric elements (flamboyant suns, cords). The French ceilings, still visible on the ground floor and on the first floor, testify to its past prestige.

Built in the last quarter of the 15th century for Antoine d'Alamand, archdeacon of Tornès, the hotel then became property of Cahors Cathedral and served as a residence for archdeacons. The work of the 20th century, including the addition of a third floor in the 1960s–70s, partially altered its original aspect. Despite these modifications, the building retains remarkable architectural elements, such as its adorned lintels and chimneys, protected since its inscription in the Historic Monuments in 1944.

The building illustrates the civil architecture of the Renaissance, marked by the influence of local workshops and church sponsors. Its location, at 40 rue du Portail-Alban, in the historic centre of Cahors, reflects its past importance within the cathedral chapter. The carved motifs, such as the ecots (stylized branches), recall the links between the religious power and the crafts of regional art at the hinge of the 15th and 16th centuries.

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