Ancien hôtel André-Desilles, actuellement bibliothèque municipale, located in Saint-Malo (Département 35), is a Renaissance château built in the 16th century. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
In the heart of Saint-Malo, this 17th-century granite town house, the birthplace of André Desilles, boasts a monumental Louis XIII fireplace and a strikingly elegant theatre-lounge.
Nestling in the cobbled streets of the corsair town, the former Hôtel André-Desilles is one of those bourgeois houses in Saint Malo that encapsulate three centuries of maritime and social history. Its tall silhouette of blue-grey granite stands out with the sobriety characteristic of the great Breton shipowners' houses, where wealth is not proclaimed on the façade but revealed in the intimacy of the courtyards and lounges. What distinguishes this building from so many other Breton private mansions is the remarkable coexistence of several architectural periods under the same roof. The paved courtyard, silent and mineral, is in dialogue with a surprising interior: a carefully preserved interior staircase, and above all a drawing room whose monumental Louis XIII-style gilded wood fireplace is one of the most spectacular pieces of civil woodwork in the town. Adjacent to this salon is a room raised by one step, the layout of which suggests it was used for theatrical purposes, a reminder that the elite of Saint Malo in the Grand Siècle cultivated the arts as much as commerce. In the courtyard stands an architecturally refined well: four Doric columns support a wrought-iron crown on a square, moulded base. Taken from the former Hôtel-Dieu in Saint-Malo, this element bears witness to the successive urban upheavals in the town and to the heritage re-use practices typical of fortified towns. Now converted into a municipal library, the building offers a doubly enriching visitor experience: that of a living space of knowledge and that of a listed historic monument, where readers and visitors cohabit in an authentic 17th-century setting. The contrast between the contemporary shelving and the age-old granite walls gives the place a unique atmosphere, somewhere between a cabinet of curiosities and a den of learning.
The André-Desilles mansion has all the distinctive features of 17th-century Malouin domestic architecture: a pronounced elevation facing the street, massive, carefully-cut walls made of local granite, and a layout based around a paved courtyard that filters light and views from the street. This sober facade, inherited from the Breton defensive tradition as much as from the Calvinist puritanism of many Malouin merchants, contrasts with the richness of the interior fittings. Inside, the main salon is the centrepiece of the décor. Its monumental carved and gilded wood mantel in the Louis XIII style - with bracketed frames, foliage friezes and an attic crown - is a rare example of Ancien Régime carpentry preserved in Brittany. Adjacent to this drawing room, a room raised by one step intrigues specialists: its scenic layout, reminiscent of a domestic proscenium, suggests that it was used for theatrical performances or musical readings by wealthy middle-class families during the Grand Siècle. The interior staircase, with its elaborate wrought iron banister, completes this coherent decorative ensemble. In the courtyard, the well from the former Hôtel-Dieu deserves particular attention. Its moulded square base, its four Doric columns with matching capitals and its wrought-iron coping make up an open-air architectural object of great classical elegance, a rare example of urban stone furniture preserved in situ in Saint-Malo.
Ancien hôtel André-Desilles, actuellement bibliothèque municipale is located in Saint-Malo, Département 35 department, Bretagne region, France.
Ancien hôtel André-Desilles, actuellement bibliothèque municipale dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Ancien hôtel André-Desilles, actuellement bibliothèque municipale is currently closed to visitors.
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Saint-Malo
Bretagne
