Hôtel Montesquiou-Fezensac, Private mansion in 7th arrondissement, Paris, France.
Hôtel Montesquiou-Fezensac is a private mansion in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, with a neoclassical garden facade featuring arched openings and an 18th-century staircase with wrought-iron railings. The building has several floors and has been adapted over time to serve different purposes.
The architect Alexandre-Théodore Brongniart designed this residence in 1781 for Anne-Pierre de Montesquiou-Fezensac, first equerry to the Count of Provence. After the Revolution, the building passed through several owners and uses before becoming the institution it is today.
The Benedictine nuns who lived here from 1851 to 1938 added a neo-Gothic cloister, traces of which can still be seen inside the building. This contrast between the classical exterior and the medieval-inspired interior spaces is one of the most noticeable features of the residence.
The building is in official use and not open to the public, but the neoclassical facade can be seen from the street. A short walk around the quiet streets near Rue Casimir-Périer gives a good view of the exterior.
The sale of this building in 2008 was one of the most expensive transactions ever recorded for a diplomatic property in Paris. The renovation that followed preserved the 18th-century elements while adapting the interior to meet modern institutional needs.
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