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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Alfonce hotel is a private hotel built between 1590 and 1603 by Jean de Plantade, captain-châtelain of Pézenas. Located at 32 rue Conti, it combines traditional architecture with two courtyards and a garden, decorated with torso columns and a helical staircase. Diane de Plantade, owner from 1614 to 1658, completed the work and gave the hotel its current architectural character, including the Corinthian capital loggia and the arcade façade on three levels.

Between 1650 and 1655, the hotel housed Molière's troupe, which played several plays, including the first of the Doctor flying on 9 November 1655. At that time, the Prince of Conti lived there during the states of Languedoc (1655-1656). The hotel took its final name in 1658, when Raymond d'Alfonce, Baron of Clairac and grand provost of Guyenne, became its owner before selling it ten years later to Achard Rousseau de la Valette, the future mayor of Pézenas.

Ranked a historic monument in 1944, the hotel is distinguished by its protected elements: the loggia on entrance courtyard, the two-storey facade of loggia on garden, and the escalator with hollowed screws. Its history combines aristocratic architecture, worldly life and theatrical heritage, testifying to the cultural importance of Pézenas in the 17th century.

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