En un regard
Le château en bref
The Château de la Capelle, in La Capelle-et-Masmolène (Gard), was probably built at the end of the 11th century. Ceded in 1211 by Philippe Auguste to the Bishop of Uzès, it became his summer residence from the 13th century onwards; Bishop Hélias de Saint-Yrieix took refuge there in the 14th century during an outbreak of plague, and Bishop Robert de Girard had a large round tower built there in 1583. Seized by revolutionary forces in 1792 and then sold to Berdier de Flaux, it was bought back in 1965 by restoration enthusiasts, who undertook its gradual rehabilitation, continued by several successive private owners who live in it. The fortress retains four corner towers (three round, one square) linked by curtain walls, pierced with straight arrow slits and crowned with crenellations. Restored and inhabited, the château can be viewed freely from the outside, on a wooded hill north of Avignon, but its interior fortifications remain closed to the public.