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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The villa Luisa, built in 1883-1884 in Bagnères-de-Luchon by architect Bernard Castex, is part of the Beaux-Arts tradition of the late 19th century. Sponsored by Gabriel Félix Estradère, an engineer of the mines enriched in Mexico thanks to the exploitation of gold and silver mines, she bears the name of her wife, Luisa, born Princess of Mésagne Cito Filomarino. The building, organized around a rectangular plan, is distinguished by its ordered elevations, its bowl-windows, and a roof with broken panels covered with slate. Its interior and exterior decoration, inspired by Neo-Renaissance, includes harped links, columns, and pilasters structuring spaces.

Located opposite the Municipal Casino, on the former Lafont-Lassale property, the villa was originally surrounded by a large garden, now partially reduced. Its basement floor housed the commons, while the raised ground floor was dedicated to reception rooms arranged in a thread. The upper floors welcomed the rooms of the residents, and the attices, those of the servants. A monumental wooden staircase, with two straight flights, serves the levels, supplemented by a service staircase in plaster and wood. The villa was also equipped with a carpentry cabin elevator, now missing.

After belonging to Gabriel Estradère until 1907, the villa became the residence of the princes of Monaco between 1915 and 1930, during which period minor modifications, such as the repair of the lantern, might have taken place. Subsequently, it was annexed to the Hotel Pyrénées-Palace before being transformed into a condominium of about ten dwellings. In 2010, the exterior staircase was restored with the help of the Heritage Foundation. The villa, classified as a Historic Monument in 2012, illustrates the opulence of the thermal residences of the time, mixing eclectic influences and domestic functionality.

The architecture of Villa Luisa reflects the financial convenience of its sponsor, Estradère, whose fortune allowed a sumptuous decoration, both outside and inside. The facades, animated by balconies, bowl-windows and a monumental porch, contrast with the rigor of the rectangular plane. Inside, the stairwell and entrance hall concentrate a decor structured by columns and pilasters. The villa, described as the "domestic version of the casino" by Odile Foucaud, precedes the latter's Art Deco modifications, highlighting its role in Luchon's thermal architectural landscape.

Today, the villa Luisa, although divided into condominiums, retains remarkable elements such as its roof with carved chimneys, its skylights, and its elevations in false apparatus. Its history, linked to both the European aristocracy and the golden age of the spas, makes it a valuable testimony of this time. The old stable, batched separately, and the disappearance of the terrace surrounding the central gazebo recall the transformations experienced by the estate over time.

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