Hôtel de Sade, house in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, France
The Hôtel de Sade is a residential dwelling built in the early 1500s in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence that blends late Gothic and Renaissance architectural elements and was designated a historical monument in 1926. The building now houses an archaeological museum displaying finds from Glanum, including Roman baths, mosaics, and remains of an earlier medieval chapel.
Balthazar de Sade built the townhouse in 1513, combining Flamboyant Gothic and Renaissance forms; the de Sade family of Avignon had held a palace here since the Middle Ages. The state bought it in 1929 and classified it as a monument historique. From 1954 it stored finds from Glanum, and the archaeological museum opened in stages from 1968, closing in 2004 for structural repairs and reopening fully in summer 2018.
The name comes from Balthazar de Sade, who built the house in 1513 and was an ancestor of the Marquis de Sade. The building has housed the deposits from the Glanum excavations since 1954, and the collection includes seated statues from Glanum that still keep their original coloured paint, showing men in Celtic aristocratic dress.
The building is located in the center of Saint-Rémy-de-Provence on Rue du Parage and is easily reached on foot. Since it is a historic structure, visitors should expect tight spaces and stone stairs, so comfortable footwear is recommended.
The building stands upon remains spanning more than 2000 years of human settlement, including Roman baths from the 4th century and an early chapel. These layers were uncovered during excavations and are now partially visible in the museum, revealing how many successive cultures inhabited this location.
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