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Origin and history

Hotel Villard, also known as Hotel de Villard, is an emblematic civil building of the city of Nîmes, located in the Gard department in the Occitanie region (formerly Languedoc-Roussillon). Built in the 17th century, it belonged to the Villard family, some of whose members were advisers to the presidial of Nîmes. Its architecture is distinguished by a facade on Golden Street adorned with a carved portal, as well as by outbuildings extending to the Rue du Chapter. The building was partially rebuilt in the mid-17th century, including the master house, porch and courtyard.

The most remarkable element of Hotel Villard is its suspended staircase, characterized by tense arches with carved pendants and a finely wrought wrought iron ramp. The windows, richly decorated with vegetal motifs such as dacanthe leaves and pine apples, as well as the ironworks of the eastern gallery, date from the 1649 construction campaign. In the 19th century, a small south gallery was added against the front of the courtyard, marked by brick vaults and iron beams. The staircase, with its cage and ramp, was included in the inventory of historical monuments by order of 7 March 1964.

The ironworks of Hotel Villard, including the stair ramp and the landing gates, consist of panels decorated with volutes and engulfing foliage. An oval shield without a coat of arms, supported by two lions, adorns the central panel of the bearing. Although access to the apartments has been modernized by a gallery on the courtyard, the ensemble retains an architectural character consistent with its time. Today, the hotel is a private property, and its official address, 5 rue Dorée, is referenced in the Mérimée base under the code Insee 30189 for the town of Nîmes.

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