A little history of Maurel de Ponteves townhouse

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The façade - ©Malost / CC-BY-SA The façade - ©Malost / CC-BY-SA
Maurel de Ponteves townhouse Town house

An elegant city house

Also known as Espagnet's house, the owner welcomed Anne-Marie-Louise of Orléans, here, in 1660, king Louis XIV’s cousin, nicknamed la Grande Mademoiselle! Nowadays, it houses the Commercial Courthouse. So we can’t visit it...

On the façade, we have two nice caryatids supporting the iron balcony! 3 floors, also: on these columns framing windows, we have Doric, Ionic and Corinthian orders, typical of the Classical style. Oh, but how do we recognize those orders? Look at that:

• on the ground floor, the column ends with a sober chapter: it’s the Doric order.
• on the second floor, the column ends with a chapter flanks by volutes.
• on the last floor, the Corinthian order is the most detailed one, with acanthus leaves.

Lord Maurel's house

Do you know the house’s story? Draper Pierre Maurel, Diane de Pontevès’ husband, raised it in 1647. He was from a modest family, but the sir became a merchant, with his brother: their rise was dazzling!

He became rich and owned the seigneury of Volonne and Ponteves. Then he became Provence treasurer but also king’s councillor! Signal honour: Maurel get, at the end of his life, letters from the king which assured him hereditary nobility...

And also!