Hôtel d'Esterno, Historical mansion near Saint-Bénigne Cathedral, Dijon, France.
Hôtel d'Esterno is a mansion in Dijon featuring classical French architecture with stone facades, large windows, and decorative balustrades across three stories. The building now houses the headquarters of the International Organization of Vine and Wine.
Jean Bouchu, first president of the Parlement de Bourgogne from 1638, bought plots on rue Monge from 1640 and had the house built from 1641 to 1643 by contractor Jean Braconnier. Long attributed to Pierre Le Muet, the design is now credited to local builders Braconnier and Guillaume Tabourot. Inherited by the Bouchu de Lessart, Froulay de Tessé, Richard de Montaugé and d'Esterno families, it passed to the city of Dijon in 1884 and was listed as a monument historique on 29 October 1928.
The name honours the d'Esterno family: Anne-Marie Laurence Richard de Montaugé married Count Anne-Ferdinand d'Esterno on 10 January 1805, and he died in the house on 24 May 1805. Their son Ferdinand-Charles kept it until his death in 1883. The 80 m² main salon retains a Versailles parquet floor and Louis XVI-style decoration.
The mansion stands at no. 1 rue Monge, with outbuildings at no. 3, a short walk from Dijon's city centre. Its courtyard and pleasure garden are freely open to the public. The 1785 street portal, flanked by two pairs of Doric columns and two cherubins above a balustrade, marks the entrance.
The building was long attributed to architect Pierre Le Muet, an idea challenged by Claude Mignot's thesis and by Agnès Botté's work on 17th-century Dijon mansions, which suggests local contractors Jean Braconnier and Guillaume Tabourot instead. The monumental portal on rue Monge, with two pairs of Doric columns and two cherubs above a balustrade, dates from 1785.
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