Villa Déramond-Barre, Colonial residence in Saint-Denis, Réunion Island.
Villa Déramond-Barre is a colonial residence in Saint-Denis, Reunion Island, with characteristic features from the Indian Ocean colonial period. The front facade facing the street is painted in sea green with balanced proportions, while the rear is covered with tamarind wood shingles and includes varied architectural details.
Built before the French Revolution on land once owned by the Compagnie des Indes orientales, the villa belonged in 1814 to Antoine Desforges Parny, half-brother of the poet Évariste de Parny. The poet Léon Dierx was born there in 1838 and left only in 1860. After passing through Eugène Bonin, it was sold on 8 March 1906 to Dr Octave Déramond, whose grandson Raymond Barre, future Prime Minister of France, was born there on 12 April 1924. Classified and inscribed as a monument historique on 6 July 1987, it has belonged to the département de La Réunion since 1983.
The house is tied to two writers: the poet Léon Dierx was born here in 1838 and lived in it until 1860, and Raymond Barre, born here on 12 April 1924, later became Prime Minister of France. The street it faces, rue de Paris, is Saint-Denis's main heritage axis of Creole villas.
The house is located in downtown Saint-Denis and can be reached easily on foot from the city center. Since it now functions as government offices, visitors should check in advance whether tours or external visits are permitted.
The land once belonged to the Compagnie des Indes orientales before the villa was built. In 1983 the property passed to the département de La Réunion, and it now houses the services of the architecte des bâtiments de France. The street facade is symmetrical, while the rear is covered in shingles.
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