Aujourd'hui Aujourd'hui (≈ 2025)
Position de référence.
Heritage classified
Façade: inscription by order of 4 October 1932 - Covered gallery, façade and roof: classification by decree of 31 October 1996
Key figures
Alphonse de Poitiers - Founder of the bastide
Created Villefranche-de-Rouergue in 1256.
Origin and history
The Labarie House has occupied a plot unchanged since 1823 between Place Notre-Dame and Rue des Drapiers in Villefranche-de-Rouergue, a bastide founded in 1256 by Alphonse de Poitiers. Its location could correspond to the original medieval parcellar. The three preserved arches (two shop arcades and an entrance gate) probably date back to the late 13th or early 14th century, with tore mouldings and cut stone scabs. These elements, partially masked by later low arches, bear witness to the primitive commercial structure.
A fire in 1497 ravaged Notre Dame Square, explaining the absence of houses prior to the 16th century. The Labarie house was rebuilt on the initial plane after this event, with a major restructuring in the late 15th or early 16th century, as evidenced by the staircase door. The current floors, pierced by ancient openings (oculus, double windows), could retain traces of the original 13th-XIVth century ordinance, although the present facade dates rather from the 18th-XIXth centuries.
Villefranche-de-Rouergue, a prosperous merchant bastide, enjoyed a rigorous urban organization: perpendicular streets delimiting rectangular lots, and a central square reserved for exchanges. The Labarie House, with its boutique arcades, embodies this commercial vocation. Its cover, modified over the centuries, reflects the successive adaptations of floor levels. Historic Monument protections (registration in 1932, partial classification in 1996) highlight its heritage value.
