Origin and history
The Château de Laréole was built between 1579 and 1583 by the architect Dominique Bachelier for Pierre de Cheverry, son of a rich pastel-toulousan merchant and treasurer general of finance of Languedoc. This Renaissance castle, characterized by its quadrilateral flanked by four bastioned towers and its alternating facades of brick and white stone, reflects the influence of the Hotel d'Assézat of Toulouse, built by the same family of architects. The inner courtyard, adorned with an arcade gallery in basket coves, illustrates the delight of the Toulouse notables of the time, who made it a popular secondary residence.
In 1707, the property passed into the hands of Jean-Pierre Colomès, a Toulouse banker, marking the beginning of a beautification phase. In the 18th century, the park was enriched with a French-style garden, statues signed by Marc Arcis (the originals of which, missing, are known by models preserved at the Musée des Augustins), and terraces modeling the steep topography according to the principles of Dézallier d'Argenville. The arrangements, probably commissioned by Joseph Colomès (son of Jean-Pierre), ended before 1739, the date of the sculptor's death. The castle, surrounded by dry moats and a terraced orchard, then embodies the alliance between Renaissance architecture and classical garden art.
The French Revolution led to several changes of owners, followed by an abandonment from 1922. Saved by the departmental council of Haute-Garonne in 1984, the estate enjoys a faithful restoration, including the reconstruction of ditches, log stairs, and stone balustrades. Ranked as a Historic Monument in 1927 (castle), then in 1991 (commons) and 1994 (park), it opens today to the public from June to September, welcoming exhibitions and the festival 31 notes from Summer. Its park, structured by a north-south axis offering a perspective on the Pyrenees, mixes century-old oak, 19th-century cedars, and gardening in quinconce, testifying to a preserved landscape know-how.
The architecture of the castle, inspired by the Toulouse models, is distinguished by its splint windows, its cornice with canned consoles, and its gate with classified balls. The polychromy of the materials (pink brick and light stone) dialogues with the elements of the park, such as statue bases (Zephire, Flora, Diane) or terrace walls. The commons, built at the end of the seventeenth century, complete this ensemble, while the archives reveal the existence of a garden as early as 1707 including orchards, pigeon trees, and woods. The restoration of the 1980s, led by Bernard Voinchet, allowed to restore the grassed glacis and linden aisles, in accordance with the old plans.
Today owned by the department, the castle of Laréole embodies a civil heritage (aristocratic residence), agricultural (vergers and historic vegetable gardens), and cultural (festivals, exhibitions). Its history reflects the economic changes of Toulouse, from the trade of pastel (XVIth century) to finance (XVIIIth century), while illustrating the evolution of the gardens, from classical parts to romantic landscapes integrating the Pyrenees in the background. Continuing excavations and archives could reveal more about his occupation between 1739 and the Revolution, a less documented period.
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