Château de Roumailhac
CastleHidden Treasure
Château de Roumailhac, located in La Tour-Blanche (Dordogne), is a Renaissance château built in the 16th century. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- Castle
- Period
- Renaissance (16th century)
- Location
- La Tour-Blanche, Dordogne, Nouvelle-Aquitaine
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 45.3657, 0.4464
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00083024
Nestling in the Périgord Blanc region, this 16th-century Renaissance château is astonishing for its dormer windows sculpted with a monkey, a dog and a grotesque figure - a unique decorative fantasy.
History
In the heart of the Périgord Blanc, at La Tour-Blanche, Château de Roumailhac is one of those discreet residences that the Périgord countryside conceals with jealous modesty. Listed as a Historic Monument since 1948, it is a marvellous embodiment of the spirit of the French Renaissance in the provinces: sober in its volumes, but surprisingly imaginative in its ornamentation. What makes Roumailhac truly unique is its sculptural decorative programme, with its almost mischievous freedom. The dormer windows opening onto the interior courtyard feature stone-cut monkey and dog sculptures, familiar but unexpected animals in the ornamental repertoire of scholarly architecture. At the top of one of these ramps, a grotesque figure of a man straddles the stone as if in defiance of gravity - a mischievous wink to the visitor, the signature of a sculptors' workshop with a resolutely humanist vocabulary. The château takes the form of two angled buildings, linked by a hexagonal staircase tower, whose unusual plan betrays a formal design characteristic of the second half of the 16th century. This L-shaped layout, common in the residential architecture of the Périgord Renaissance, lends the ensemble an elegant asymmetry and delimits a protected, intimate courtyard, where most of the sculpted decoration is concentrated. A visit to Roumailhac is an invitation to slow down. The monument, preserved from the hustle and bustle of the tourist trade, is aimed at lovers of authentic heritage, those who prefer a solitary discovery to the crowds of the big sites. The verdant setting of the Périgord Blanc, with its gentle hills and meadows, envelops the residence in a serenity that the centuries have not altered.
Architecture
Château de Roumailhac has an angled plan comprising two rectangular main buildings joined at right angles, a classic layout for French Renaissance residential architecture in the provinces. The most remarkable element of the composition is the hexagonal staircase tower that joins the two wings: its six-sided plan, less common than the round or square tower, reveals a certain formal ambition and testifies to knowledge of the Italianate models disseminated by the great royal building sites. Roumailhac's originality lies in the ornamentation of the inner courtyard dormers. The railings of these dormers - the lateral slopes framing the projecting windows - are sculpted with remarkably lively animal figures: a monkey and a dog take their place, animals from the familiar and humanist register so dear to the Renaissance. Even more astonishing, a grotesque figure of a man straddles the top of one of the banisters, swerving between two stone slopes in a posture that is both comic and virtuoso. This type of grotesque ornamentation, directly inspired by Italian stucco and Nordic engravings, is rare on this scale in French rural heritage. The building materials used are those of the Périgord region: light-coloured limestone, characteristic of the Périgord Blanc, which gives the buildings in the region their luminous, golden hue. The roofs, which are probably covered in flat tiles or "lauzes" according to local tradition, crown the ensemble with a sober silhouette that is enlivened by the sculpted decorations on the dormer windows.
Related Figures
Seigneur de Roumailhac (XVIe siècle) — commanditaire présumé du château et de son décor sculpté, dont l'identité reste à préciserSculpteur anonyme de l'atelier périgourdin — auteur des lucarnes ornées du singe, du chien et de la figure grotesqueInspecteurs des Monuments Historiques (1948) — responsables de la reconnaissance officielle et de la protection du château
Tags
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Château de Roumailhac located?
Château de Roumailhac is located in La Tour-Blanche, Dordogne department, Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, France.
When was Château de Roumailhac built?
Château de Roumailhac dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Château de Roumailhac open to visitors?
Château de Roumailhac is currently closed to visitors.