Timeline

Origin and history

The building located on Terral Street in Montpellier is a small two-storey house, typical of the medieval urban habitat. Each level had only one room, originally distributed by a right staircase characteristic of the Middle Ages. The ground floor housed shop windows, while the floors were illuminated by double-shaped windows, reflecting the commercial and residential needs of the era. The architectural traces still visible today bear witness to these initial uses, peculiar to the merchant cities of southern France.

At the end of the 17th or early 18th century, the house underwent major overhauls to adapt to the new standards of comfort and aesthetics. The medieval right staircase was replaced by a screw staircase, more practical and symbolic of social status, while the windows were modified to adopt the "Italian style", then in vogue. These transformations illustrate the transition from medieval to modern times in Montpellierian domestic architecture, where Italian influence gradually spreads.

The facades of the ground floor and the first floor were inscribed in the Historical Monuments by order of May 8, 1939, recognizing their heritage value. This protection highlights the importance of this building as a witness to the architectural and social evolutions of Montpellier, from the Middle Ages to the classical era. Its location at the corner of the rue des Amandiers, in the historic heart of the city, also reinforces its interest in understanding the ancient town planning of the Occitanie region.

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