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Key figures

Origin and history

The noble house of Malet is a former 16th century gentilhommière, located in the commune of Saint-Paul in Savoie. It was the heart of the seigneury of Malet, owned by the noble family of La Porte, lords of Malet and Saint Paul. This manor house, now reduced to the state of remains, illustrates the architecture of the small seigneurial residences of the modern era in Savoy.

In 1540, the mansion houses Claude de La Porte, seigneur of Malet, sentenced to death in 1557 for the murder of Nicolas Dapponex. His execution, particularly violent, was ordered by the Chambéry authorities: beheading, quartering of the body exposed in various symbolic places, including the Col du Chat. His wife, Marie de Lucinge, an accomplice in the crime, quickly remarried Antoine de Seyssel, Viscount de Choisel, to whom she brought the seigneury of Malet.

On 16 December 1680 Aynard de Seyssel, Viscount of Choisel and former officer, died in this strong house. Former resident of Choisel Castle, he was retired for his last years. At the beginning of the 20th century, in 1907, the mansion was more than a farm belonging to the Dognin family, originally from Saint Paul, marking the end of its aristocratic status.

This monument bears witness to the social and architectural transformations of Savoy, from a seigneurial residence to an agricultural building. Its history also reflects the violence and family alliances characteristic of the Savoyard nobility during the Renaissance.

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