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Origin and history

The hotel of Puivert is a mansion located in Toulouse, built in the middle of the eighteenth century. It embodies the Louis XV style while integrating traditional Toulouse elements, such as the separation between courtyard and garden. The building, which was listed as a historic monument in 1998, is distinguished by its refined architecture and interior decorations, including a wrought iron staircase by Bernard Ortet.

In 1751 François de Roux, Marquis de Sainte-Colombe and President of the Parliament of Toulouse, bequeathed by will a building on Rue Bouquières to his son, Sylvestre de Roux, Marquis de Puivert. The latter, a high magistrate, acquired four adjacent buildings to build a large hotel. The architect Hyacinthe de Labat de Savignac, winner of the Grand Prize of Architecture of Toulouse in 1752, designs the building by playing on the irregularities of the plot to create an illusion of symmetry. The facade on street, sober, contrasts with the facades on courtyard, decorated with Corinthian pilasters, arches decorated with carved heads and elongated egg-eyes.

Construction began in 1752 and ended around 1756. The entrance gate, placed in a bias, facilitates access to the carriages and hides an additional wing. Inside, the honorary staircase, with its wrought iron ramp, and the central wrought iron balcony, work of Bernard Ortet, bear witness to the luxury of the era. The main house body, flanked by two wings, opens onto a garden whose original layout has been altered over the centuries. A cartreuse and a fountain-nymphate remain, reminders of the original arrangements.

In 1781, the hotel was acquired by the Marquis of Gardush-Bélesta, a member of the Academy of Floral Games and Science, which installed a library, a collection of Roman paintings and coins. Little reworked since then, the hotel retains original elements such as marble fireplaces and doortops. After a first partial protection between 1949 and 1951, the entire building, including the garden and its outbuildings, was listed as historical monuments in 1998.

The attribution of architectural paternity has long been attributed to Labat de Savignac, but recent research suggests a possible involvement of Guillaume Cammas, architect of the city. Today, the hotel's floors are divided into rental apartments, while the common areas and interior decorations recall its past prestige.

Located at 8 rue Bouquières, the Hotel de Puivert illustrates the art of living of the eighteenth century Toulouse elites, combining residential functions, social representation and cultural heritage. Its architecture, marked by the influence of Jacques-François Blondel, and its decorations make it a remarkable testimony to the artistic heritage of the Occitanie region.

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