En un regard
Le château en bref
Château de Blacieux overlooks the Rhône valley in the commune of Talencieux, in the north of the Ardèche. Originally a simple farming estate, it was acquired in the 1830s by the Duret family of Annonay, who turned it into a hunting lodge and extended the property to more than fifty hectares. In 1890, Doctor Gaston Lacaze, a Parisian physician, inherited it; he had the house remodelled in 1898–1899 by the architect Élie Borione and used it as a summer residence. Mayor of Talencieux from 1904 to 1910, he is linked to the history of the dome of the church's bell tower, installed in 1912 at the request of his wife so that it would be visible from the château. In June 1940, a French battery positioned nearby was bombed by the Wehrmacht: the building narrowly escaped destruction and still bears traces of the attack, commemorated by a plaque. The estate has remained privately owned by the Lacaze heirs.