Viviers, Rhône 07220

A 12th-century residence, listed as a historical monument, in the former capital of the old Vivarais province, on the banks of the River Rhne. Until the French Revolution, the property was the residence of rich owners, before accommodating the town hall for two centuries until 1947, when it was sold to private owners. The house underwent various alterations and restorations as the years passed by, particularly in 1563, 1855 and 1856.Today it has a rectangular layout made up of two parts linked by a central, stone, spiral staircase leading to the three upper floors that make up the edifice. The western faade, which overlooks the square, dates from the 17th century. This narrow section with two vertical rows of openings is the 'public' part of the house, facing the square. There are windows on each of its four levels.The faade is crowned by a moulded cornice and a stone balustrade behind which the roof is hidden.The southern faade is the house's longest. It looks onto the street called Rue du Chteau leading to the episcopal district. A third of the wall has no windows and in the centre, the entrance door with a basket-handle arch is framed by moulded splaying. Directly above it, there are four windows with moulded frames dating from the Middle Ages, through which the spiral staircase is bathed in light. On the right-hand side of the faade, the windows with mostly moulded frames, above two bayonet-shaped drip stones following the slope of Rue du Chteau, allow the living rooms to be flooded with light. The eastern half of the faade still has traces of older openings. On the second floor, there is still a gemelled window whose central column is adorned with chevron fluting and whose chapters are carved with stylised acanthus leaves. Other Romanesque origin openings are still visible.Lastly, since the northern and eastern faades are secondary elevations, they have much less openings.