Tuesday 22 January 2013

La maison des musiciens italiens

The Italian Musicians' house. It was built by Jules Hardouin-Mansart in 1752 and lies almost opposite Madame Elisabeth's orangerie. It was erected on the site of the house where Louis the 14th welcomed Italian castrati attached to the royal chapel in 1710. It was later occupied by Madame de Marsan, governess to the king's children and the botanist L. G. Le Monnier. Nothing is left of his botanic garden though the public garden has received a makeover recently. It is now the headquarters of the French guild of itinerant craftsmen for the Yvelines department of which Versailles is 'county town'.

 Elle fut construite en 1752 par Jules Hardouin-Mansart de Sagonne et se trouve quasiment en face de l'orangerie de Madame Elisabeth. Elle fut érigée sur le site de la maison où, en 1710, Louis XIV accueillit les "sopranistes" ou castrats italiens attachés à la chapelle royale. Plus tard, elle fut occupée par Madame de Marsan, gouvernante des enfants du roi, puis par le botaniste L. G. Le Monnier, dont le jardin botanique n'a pas été conservé. Le jardin attenant a récemment été Actuellement, c'est le siège de l'Union des Compagnons du Tour de France.

23 comments:

LONDONLULU said...

What a beautiful building, no wonder the architect was so beloved! If it weren't mid-winter, I could sit in that bench all day. Long ago, a friend played me one of the only recordings of a castrato, I'd never heard anything like it. (PS So much happened in Verdun, what it must be like to drive through...)

Sylvia K said...

A beautiful building indeed! And I do love your snowy capture for the day, Ciel! Hope your week is off to a great start! Enjoy!

Michelle said...

Really a beautiful building.

Randy said...

Nice capture with the bench. It looks so serene.

Bob Crowe said...

The guild of itinerant French craftsmen. Now there's a concept. Wandering from town to town, making accordions and hand-binding cookbooks?

Jack said...

Love this building. Your photograph is excellent.

A guild for itinerant craftsmen? Hmmm. Trying to figure out who they might be and what they might make.

Malyss said...

Moi je vois juste le banc.. :o)

Cezar and Léia said...

The composition with the bench is spectacular, you are an artist my friend, well done!
Léia

cieldequimper said...

@ Bob and Jack: I've added a link.

Small City Scenes said...

Wow such history. Very interesting.

My daughter started a blog. Go to:
ritzvilleranchlife.blogspot.com and see Ritzville up close and personal. MB

Thérèse said...

The benches need to be re-designed! :-)

Alain said...

Les compagnons du tour de France ? Avec ou sans EPO ?

PerthDailyPhoto said...

Lovely composition Ciel, have you shown us this building in different seasons?

Tanya Breese said...

what beautiful architecture :)

Halcyon said...

A lovely little abode. That bench doesn't look inviting right now, but I bet it's a nice place to sit in the spring or summer. :)

Bergson said...

je vais attendre un peu avant d bouquiner sur ce banc
à moins d'avoir un pantalon étanche

VP said...

One more bench for me, and a very nice one!

Unknown said...

Now, this a wonderfully composed shot, Ciel! Love it.

SRQ said...

Beautiful, especially with a dusting of the white stuff.

Wayne said...

That building would be a great inspiration for beautiful music.

Diane AZ said...

The bench adds warmth to the picture even though it would be too cold to sit on. I also like that the building has lots of windows.

EG CameraGirl said...

This is a stately building!

tapirgal said...

I'm sleepy. I read this as "Internet" craftsmen. I'm glad I as wrong :-) It should be something historic in this beautiful old setting. The bench looks nice.