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Origin and history

The Beaulieu villa is a neoclassical house built in 1772 in Divonne-les-Bains, in the department of l'Ain, by the Barberat family (or Barbezat), enriched by its drummer on the Divonne river. This stone building, marked by horizontal lines and a rounded pediment, recalls the style of Claude-Nicolas Ledoux. Its architecture, with bossed pilasters and egg-eyes, makes it one of the most remarkable in the Country of Gex. The villa is a testimony of the influence of Catholic Savoyards attracted to the region during the Counter-Reform to "recatholize" this predominantly Protestant area.

The Barberat family, prospering through its industrial activity, was able to finance this prestigious home. The villa changed hands several times: sold in 1874 to the Countess of Divonne, then in 1876 to the consorts Grevaz, it was transformed into a hotel-restaurant in the 20th century. Listed for the additional inventory of historical monuments since 1994, it was restored in 2010 to return to its original plan, with the re-implantation of the eight egg-eye roofing and the preservation of its 18th century interior decorations.

An emblematic element remains: the large wheel with blades of the battery, always visible from the bridge of the rue du Prieuré. This wheel, restored in the 20th century, recalls the industrial origin of the Barberat fortune. The villa, opened exceptionally during the Journées du Patrimoine, also preserves wall hangings and murals of the eighteenth century, whose restoration remains a work in progress since 2013.

According to the architect of the Bâtiments de France, the villa is distinguished by its rare arrangement, evoking certain provisions of the Château de Voltaire in Ferney. Its main façade, with a protruding forebody and a curved pediment, is framed by two pavilions connected by a hemicycle grid. At the back, a semi-spherical front body and a terrace with stairs lead to a small garden, reflecting the elegance of 18th-century private hotels.

Historical sources, such as the Napoleonic cadastre of 1845, confirm the construction of the villa in the last third of the eighteenth century. A fireplace plate dated 1772 in the dining room attests to this. The cadastre also reveals the posterior addition of a garden with massive and aisles, probably contemporary of the villa. These elements, combined with the archives of the ARPADI association, underline its role in local history and its link with the migration of Catholic Savoyards under the leadership of the Count of the Forest-Divonne.

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