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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Venetian villa, located 7 rue de Belgique in Vichy (Allier), was built in 1897 by the architect Henri Décoret for Jean-Baptiste Lambert, an antique painter and art dealer in Paris. This building is inspired by the Casa d'el Oro in Venice, mixing Gothic and Moorish styles in an eclectic aesthetic typical of the late 19th century water towns. The facade, decorated with broken arches, capital columns and stylized plant motifs, reflects this architectural syncretism.

The entrance gate, marked by a typically Moorish overpassed arch, is framed by columns with carved capitals. Upstairs, a loggia with curved windows rests on balustrades decorated with Venice lions, symbols of the Venetian Republic. The balcony, supported by lion-headed consoles, takes up these motifs, while the second floor windows fit into hooked arches, characteristic of the flamboyant Gothic.

The interior preserves remarkable elements such as the vestibule and the stairwell, where a stone emplacement mimics the Gothic ribs crossed. These spaces, together with the facade and roof, were listed as historical monuments by order of 10 September 1990. The villa illustrates the enthusiasm of the bourgeois elite for exotic architectural pastiches, in the thermal and social context of Vichy at the Belle Époque.

Private property today, the Venetian villa bears witness to the role of architects like Henri Décoret, who adapted Italian models to the expectations of an easy clientele. Its ornamentation, mixing interlacing plant motifs and Moorish references, makes it a unique example of the eclectic heritage of the Allier, linked to the golden age of the French spas.

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