En un regard
Le château en bref
The Château de Piogé, in Availles-Thouarsais (Deux-Sèvres), perched on a rocky spur overlooking the Cendronne valley, dates back to the 12th–13th centuries; the seigneury of Puyogé was held from the Duchy of Thouars. The fortress is said to have succeeded a building destroyed by Philip Augustus in 1206. Its successive lords included Jean Acton (1317), then the Petit, Boschet and Bouchet families, and Artus de Cossé (1562). Today the site combines a remodelled residence (logis) and a ruined fortress, with an almost square defensive block with very thick walls, flanked by two towers, one of which is a still-impressive keep; access is between two towers linked by machicolations. A chapel with a richly moulded Gothic doorway and a guardroom with double arcades on pillars complete the ensemble. Listed as a historic monument (inscrit aux monuments historiques) since 26 September 1995, the château is privately owned and not open to visitors, except during the Heritage Days (Journées du Patrimoine).