Ancienne maison romane
MonumentHidden Treasure
Ancienne maison romane, located in Angers (Maine-et-Loire), is a medieval landmark built in the Middle Ages. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- autre
- Period
- Medieval (11th-15th century)
- Location
- Angers, Maine-et-Loire, Pays de la Loire
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 47.4710, -0.5573
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00132703
A 12th-century Romanesque gem nestling in the heart of Angers, this medieval house is an exceptional example of Angevin civil architecture, with its geminated tufa bays and round arches of rare elegance.
History
As you stroll through the narrow streets of the old town of Angers, this ancient Romanesque house emerges like an intact fragment of the Middle Ages, defying the centuries with majestic sobriety. Built in the last quarter of the 12th century, it is one of the few surviving examples of Romanesque civil architecture in France, despite the city's rich Plantagenet past. Where cathedrals and châteaux monopolise the attention of historians, this discreet residence is a reminder that the nobility of stone was not reserved for religious or military buildings alone. What makes this house truly singular is the quality of its workmanship in tuffeau, the white limestone extracted from the quarries of the Loire, so dear to the builders of Anjou. Its facades still feature round-arched openings and finely sculpted columns, bearing witness to remarkable craftsmanship at a time when Romanesque art was reaching its final flowering in Anjou before the Angevin Gothic revolution. The visit immerses visitors in the intimacy of everyday medieval bourgeois and aristocratic life in the 12th century. It's easy to imagine the prosperous merchants and cultured clerics who lived within these walls, just a stone's throw from Saint-Maurice Cathedral and the castle of the Counts of Anjou. The superimposition of different periods - medieval, modern and contemporary - gives this building a historical density that more famous monuments don't always offer. The urban setting of Angers, a city of art and history on the banks of the River Maine, makes for an even richer visit. The surrounding medieval quarter, with its Renaissance town houses and cobbled streets, forms a coherent setting in which the Romanesque house is a key part of a centuries-old urban fabric. Photographers and lovers of medieval civil architecture will find it a rare and precious source of inspiration.
Architecture
The Romanesque house in Angers is a civil building dating from the end of the 12th century, representative of the domestic Romanesque style in Angers. Built of tuffeau, the warm white limestone quarried from the cliffs of the Loire Valley, its façade is structured by semi-circular bays, typical of Romanesque art, framed by columns with capitals soberly sculpted with stylised geometric or plant motifs. The careful, regular and precise matching of the ashlar reveals the work of experienced stonemasons, heirs to a first-rate craft tradition in Anjou. The two-storey building is compact and squat, in keeping with the canons of Romanesque civil architecture. The ground floor, formerly given over to commercial or craft activities, opens onto wide transitional pointed-arch windows, while the upper storey, reserved for living quarters, contains the most elaborate geminated windows. This vertical arrangement of functions - economic at the bottom, residential at the top - is typical of the houses of medieval notables in urban areas. The roof, probably made of Anjou slate in accordance with regional custom, discreetly caps the whole without detracting from the legibility of the façade. A few mouldings and horizontal bands punctuate the elevations and emphasise the separation of levels. Despite the inevitable alterations that have accumulated over the centuries, the original Romanesque structure remains legible, making this residence a valuable architectural document on civil construction techniques in late 12th-century Anjou.
Related Figures
Henri II Plantagenêt — roi d'Angleterre et comte d'Anjou, sous le règne duquel la maison fut construite, dans le contexte de l'apogée de la puissance angevineRichard Cœur de Lion — fils d'Henri II, héritier du comté d'Anjou, figure tutélaire de l'Anjou médiéval contemporain de la constructionSaint Louis (Louis IX) — sous son règne, Angers entre dans la sphère royale capétienne et connaît une nouvelle effervescence architecturale qui replace la maison dans un contexte gothique naissantCharles Ier d'Anjou — frère de Saint Louis, grand bâtisseur angevin qui transforme le visage de la ville au XIIIe siècleRené d'Anjou — duc d'Anjou et comte de Provence au XVe siècle, mécène exceptionnel dont l'ombre culturelle plane sur tout le patrimoine angevin médiéval
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Ancienne maison romane located?
Ancienne maison romane is located in Angers, Maine-et-Loire department, Pays de la Loire region, France.
When was Ancienne maison romane built?
Ancienne maison romane dates back to a period built in the Middle Ages (11th-15th century).
Is Ancienne maison romane open to visitors?
Ancienne maison romane is currently closed to visitors.