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Origin and history

The house in Richelieu, built in the seventeenth century, is part of the ambitious urban project of Cardinal Richelieu. The latter transformed his native village into an ideal city, entrusting the plans to the architect Jacques Lemercier. The city was provided with a regular geometrical layout, with ditches, ramparts, monumental gates and symmetrical streets lined with aligned houses. This project reflected the cardinal's political and aesthetic ambitions, combining military rigor and classical elegance.

This specific house was built according to the plans of Jacques Lemercier by the entrepreneur Jean Barbet for François Citoys, doctor of the king. Its architecture, although devoid of wing in return for economic reasons (the budget of ten thousand pounds being considered too high), retains remarkable elements. Access to the courtyard is via Traversière Street, offsetting the absence of a porch. A staircase turret, added in the 19th century, now provides access to the first floor, while a service staircase serves the attic.

Subsequent changes, such as the development of a porch near the stables in the 19th century, reflect the changing uses of this building. The facades and roofs of the house on the Grande-Rue, as well as those of the North Wing on Traversière Street, have been protected since 1992. The absence of traces of the original stairway and subsequent redevelopments make it difficult to restore the initial internal distribution.

The urban project of Richelieu, of which this house is an example, illustrates the influence of the great lords of the seventeenth century on the planning of the territory. The city, conceived as a symbol of power and modernity, combines functionality and aesthetics, lastingly marking the landscape of the Centre-Val de Loire region.

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