Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Hotel de Salvador, also called Hotel de Lauris, is a private hotel built in Avignon in the early eighteenth century. It was built between 1704 and 1713 for Paul de Salvador, dean of the court of La Rote, from pre-existing houses. The main architects were Louis Rochas and Jean Péru, while the Franque (father and son) intervened as entrepreneurs, notably to carry out in 1713 the first suspended staircase of the city, designed according to the plans of Antoine German, an architect of Carpentras. This staircase, as well as the iron railing (1711), are among the few original interior elements preserved.

The building adopts a U-shaped layout around an inner courtyard, with an entrance gate decorated with ionic pilasters. Inside, the wing is home to the remarkable staircase, while an alcove room retains a gypsum decor. Although the original volumes were preserved, most of the coins lost their original French ceilings. The hotel was partially protected as early as 1932 (fall and staircase), then in its entirety in 1998.

The historical sources mention several key actors: Jean Péru, who supervised the construction site and validated the works in 1713, and Jean-Baptiste Franque, then little known architect, who worked there before being entrusted with major projects such as the Sainte-Marthe hospital in Avignon in 1718. The archives also reveal initial conflicts around price-facts, resolved by Peru arbitration. The ironwork ramp, made by the locksmiths Charles Giraud (Avignon) and Guillaume Poussin (Saint-Rémy-de-Provence), dates from 1711 and illustrates the local craftsmanship.

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