Maison romaine, Historical residence in Épinal, France

Maison romaine is a two-storey brick and stone residence in Épinal, built in 1892 in a neo-Pompeian style. A pale stone facade section framed by brick carries a five-column stone loggia above a round archway, with two brick chimneys capped in stone at the roofline. Inside, the entrance hall has two covered atriums and two impluviums, and two lion sculptures guard the entrance.

In 1892 Madame Leclerc-Morel, heir to the fortune of the Grands Moulins de Strasbourg, had a Pompeian-style house built at Épinal; the architect Jean Boussard adapted it to the Vosges climate. Ruined, she never saw the project completed. In 1902 the town bought the building to house its municipal library, which occupied it from 1906 to 2007, together with 18th-century woodwork from the Abbey of Moyenmoutier. The whole property was inscribed as a monument historique on 22 November 1990.

The Pompeiian wall paintings and the two lion statues at the entrance are the details to look for. The house was commissioned in 1892 by Madame Leclerc-Morel, heir to the fortune of the Grands Moulins de Strasbourg, who was ruined before the project was finished and never saw it completed. The city bought the building in 1902 and installed its municipal library there from 1906 to 2007, together with 18th-century woodwork from the Abbey of Moyenmoutier.

The house stands in Épinal, in the Vosges department of Lorraine, and is listed as a monument historique along with its outbuildings, former winter garden, boundary walls and gardens. The entrance is guarded by two stone lions on low plinths, and the doorway sits in a round stone archway behind steps with an iron handrail. A rose garden of 3,000 square metres, laid out in the French style, holds more than 500 rose varieties.

The building was bought by the city of Épinal in 1902 to house its municipal library, which stayed there until 2007 and kept the 18th-century woodwork of Moyenmoutier Abbey. The whole property, including the villa, outbuildings, former winter garden, boundary walls and gardens, was listed as a monument historique on 22 November 1990.