History
article | Reading time3 min
Situated in the heart of the old town of Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, this mansion embodies the power of the de Sade family, ennobled by the Pope in the 14th century. Currently the "archaeological museum" of the Glanum site, the Hôtel de Sade is a building that has undergone constant architectural evolution since the 4th century AD.
Late Antiquity
The site was originally occupied by a vast thermal complex dating back to the 4th century AD, gradually revealed by the various excavation campaigns carried out since the 1940s.
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Medieval period
The first chapel, Notre-Dame-de-la-Tour, was built on the remains of the thermal baths in the early Middle Ages. In the 12th century, this modest edifice was transformed and enlarged to become the church of Saint-Pierre de Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, under the impetus of its owners, the Benedictine monks of Montmajour Abbey.
In 1318, Pope John XXII ceded Saint-Pierre church to the Archbishopric of Avignon, which transformed the church and its outbuildings into a Tithe House (the place where the fruits of this tax levied by the Archbishop of Avignon were stored).
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From the Renaissance to the Revolution
In 1513, Balthazar de Sade (1461-1518) had a townhouse built in a style combining Gothic and Renaissance repertoires.
In 1563, a new chapel was built to house the Pénitents Noirs brotherhood, who occupied it until the 1789 revolution.
During the revolutionary period, it became the headquarters of a section of a Montagnard club. It then became a theater, a carpenter's workshop and a blacksmith's shop.
In 1897, it collapsed due to lack of work.
Today, part of the nave, choir and transept of this modest building can still be seen. It's worth pointing out that part of the transept is certainly made up of the remains of a cold-water basin, the frigidarium, from the ancient Roman thermal baths.
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Nowadays
In 1929, Jules Formigé (1879-1960), chief architect of historic monuments, and Pierre de Brun (1874-1941), founder of the Musée des Alpilles, acquired the buildings and classified them as historic monuments, saving them from ruin. From 1954, under the leadership of Henri Rolland (1887-1970)the Hôtel de Sade became the repository for excavations at the Glanum site, whose collections were presented to the public in 1968.
The current site covers some 2,000 square meters and continues to showcase a selection of the finest archaeological finds from the Glanum site.
©JLT