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Origin and history

The hotel of Pins, located at 46 rue du Languedoc in Toulouse, was one of the first Renaissance hotels in the city, built between 1528 and 1530 by Jean de Pins, a humanist and prelate inspired by his stay in Italy. He introduced the ionic order in Toulouse, basing himself on the Vitruve Treaty published by Cesariano in 1521, and broke with the local tradition of stairways by favoring galleries decorated with medallions to the antique. These decorations, evoking the collections of Roman currencies of humanists, mixed portraits in busts and plant motifs like "hats of triumph".

In 1542, the merchant Jean de Nolet acquired the hotel and entrusted the architect Nicolas Bachelier with major transformations: the addition of an arcade shop on the street, a side passage, and a western gallery decorated with carved medallions (including a Maure, a king, and Roman figures). These elements, as well as those of Jean de Pins, were saved during the partial destruction of the hotel at the beginning of the 20th century, during the drilling of the rue du Languedoc. The galleries were then taken up to the courtyard of the Antonin Hotel, built in 1903 by Joseph Thillet on the same site.

The current double gallery, classified as Historic Monument in 1995, superimposed on the ground floor the arcades of Nolet (1542) and on the upper floor those of Pins (1528-1530), merging two periods of the Toulouse Renaissance. Eight other arcades were relocated to the courtyard of Hotel Thomas de Montval. The medallions, some very degraded, celebrate Italian influence and humanist erudition, while the marteled coats of arms of Pins and Nolet remind their sponsors. The hotel Antonin, neo-Renaissance and Haussmannian style, integrates these remains into a U-shaped courtyard, contrasting traditional brick and metal oriels.

Prior to its destruction, the Hotel de Pins housed public institutions: the post office with letters (1795-1804) and then the general recipe (circa 1843-1873). Acquired in 1870 by the husband Antonin, it was partially demolished for the widening of the rue du Languedoc (1899-1906), preserving only the galleries, unique witnesses of his original fascist. Today, these vestiges illustrate the transition between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance in Toulouse, as well as the challenges of heritage preservation in the face of urban transformation.

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