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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The house in Clermont-Ferrand, dating from the early 16th century, perfectly illustrates the real estate architecture of this period. It was originally part of the urban hotel belonging to the Barge family, a notable family in the region. The building stands out for its corner position, with a main façade on street and two narrow facades on the square, all organized on two levels and an attic. Its basket handle portal, decorated with symmetrical vantals, gives access to a rectangular inner courtyard, bordered by a facade surmounted by a balustrade.

The interior staircase, remarkable by its decoration, presents on its intermediate landing two carved Renaissance medallions, representing a man's head and a woman's head opposite. These elements, as well as facades and roofs, were protected by a registration order in 1964, highlighting their heritage value. Today, the building belongs to an association, although its current use (visits, rental, accommodation) is not specified in the available sources.

The location of the house, at the corner of the street of Terrail and the square of the same name, makes it a major architectural witness to the historic centre of Clermont-Ferrand. Its state of conservation and geographical accuracy, considered "a priori satisfactory", allow to appreciate its integration into the urban fabric of the Renaissance period, marked by the rise of private hotels and bourgeois residences.

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