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Origin and history

Paul Verlaine's home, located at No. 2 on Rue Haute-Pierre in Metz (Great East), is an 18th-century building whose façade and Louis XV gate have been listed as historic monuments since 1978. It was on the first floor that the poet was born on March 30, 1844, in an apartment now transformed into a museum. The association Les Amis de Verlaine, which bought the premises in 2011, reconstructs the atmosphere Second Empire and traces its life, from Metz to Paris, through permanent and temporary exhibitions.

Verlaine spent only 34 months in Metz before leaving the city for Paris, but his attachment to his Messina roots was later expressed in poems like Metz (1892), written after the Lorrain annexation of 1871. Patriote, he refused German nationality and celebrated his hometown as a symbol of resistance. The house, labeled Maison des Illustres in 2019, maintains a rich iconography and ancient documents, while organizing literary and poetic events to perpetuate its heritage.

The building, typical of Messina architecture, combines elements of the eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The apartment-museum, a member of the Federation of Writers' Houses, is divided into four thematic rooms: Lorrain childhood, literary glory, Parisian youth and the poet's seed. Each year, temporary exhibitions, literary fairs and an international poetry competition are organized by the association, which also publishes the magazine L的Actualité Verlaine since 2010.

An annual tribute is paid to Verlaine on 30 March, the day of her birth, in front of her bust Poor Lélian (1925) in Metz. Another ceremony has taken place in Paris, in front of its monument at the Jardin du Luxembourg, since 1911. These traditions underline Verlaine's enduring importance in French culture, between local heritage and national influence.

The first Society of Friends of Verlaine, founded in 1921 by Gustave Kahn and Maurice Barrès, already brought together enthusiasts of his work, including Lorrains. Today, the house remains a living place, mixing historical memory and contemporary creation, through concerts, conferences and publications that explore its time and influence on the arts.

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