The Guillaume de Chalus family occupied the Château de Cordes in the commune of Orcival from 1268 until 1659. After the family sold the property, it was transformed into a residence by Yves de Tourzel, the marquis d'Allegre, who was a marechal of France in 1724. In 1695, he commissioned the workshop of Le Nôtre to lay out the gardens.
Today, the château is a privately owned historic monument. The exterior facade on the Sioulet River side is decorated with machicolation. Inside, the residence contains a 16th-century Carrara marble altarpiece and the sculptured tomb of Yves II. The living room is decorated with plaster work dating from the 18th century.
The grounds are famous for their design, featuring an alley of five-meter-high hornbeam trees and a topiary garden. Visitors can walk through a labyrinth that contains a rose garden in its center. The garden is listed by the French Ministry of Culture as one of the Remarkable Gardens of France.
The castle also holds literary significance, as it served as the setting for Paul Bourget's novel, Le démon de midi, published in 1914. The site was restored in 1965 to recreate its gardens and historic character.
Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons
Written by Nicolo Ciampini
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