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Origin and history

The building, located at 25 Gambetta Street in Toulouse, is a 16th century building, opening both on Gambetta Street and Mirepoix Street. Its architectural peculiarity lies in a pentagonal inner courtyard, bounded by five buildings and a protruding porch. The courtyard elevations, symmetrical and classically inspired, feature arcades on the ground floor, rectangular windows topped with cornices, and horizontal bands rhythmizing the facades. An additional peak pierced with oculus crown together, while an 18th century wrought iron ramp remains inside.

The construction is attributed to Pierre de Saint-Etienne, a capital of Toulouse between 1538 and 1539, whose name is associated with still visible Renaissance sculptures: two busts of characters and a bas-relief, probably from a later redesign. The elevation on Mirepoix Street, symmetrical with its five spans, seems more recent (18th century), contrasting with the parts on court probably dating from the 17th century. The site also preserves a legendary trace: the site of an old gate once housed the house of the master cutler François Cellar, blacksmith in 1760 of the knife which, according to tradition, sliced the heart of the Duke of Montmorency in 1632.

The facades and roofs on street and courtyard were inscribed in the Historical Monuments by order of 7 September 1978. The cadastre of 1680 revealed that the present parcel corresponded to two distinct properties, one of which extended to Lakanal Street. Modern construction (XX century) has been added to the courtyard, while the whole is now owned by a private company. The building thus illustrates several historical strata, from the Renaissance to the contemporary era, while embodying Toulouse's civil heritage.

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