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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The Hotel Desmarets de Montdevergues, originally called Hôtel de Capellis, is a private hotel located in Avignon, in the department of Vaucluse. Its history begins in the 17th century, when it belongs to the family of Aymard. In 1708, François-Élzéar de Capellis, Marquis and captain of galeries, acquired it and had it completely rebuilt in 1710 by the architects Franque, according to the plans of Pierre II Mignard. The facade, enhanced around 1755 by François II Franque, is distinguished by a iron balcony and a triangular pediment.

The property remained in the Capellis family until 1785, when Hippolyte de Capellis, the last heir, sold it to Charles-Magne Victorin Desmarets. He, Musketeer and captain of cavalry, placed his talking weapons (waterbirds) on the pediment in 1785. During the Revolution, Desmarets emigrated and died in Santo Domingo in 1795; his wife, after a strategic divorce, sold the hotel in 1829 to the Marquis de Verclos, who then gave it to the Foulc brothers, enriched by the trade of garance.

In 1876 the General Council of Vaucluse acquired the hotel as its seat, symbolizing its administrative independence after the 1871 law. The facade, with its balcony and window supports, was classified as a historic monument in 1932. The building thus illustrates the architectural and political transformations of Avignon, from the aristocratic fascists of the eighteenth century to its modern institutional role.

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