Château de Beauregard

En un regard

Le château en bref

In Saint-Genis-Laval, south-west of Lyon, the Beauregard park rises up the slopes around the remains of a former Italian-style pleasure residence. Originally a simple fortified house surrounded by vineyards and meadows, the estate was acquired in the mid-16th century by the Gadagne family, a powerful family of bankers of Florentine origin established in Lyon, who converted it into a summer residence. It is from this period and the following century that the most remarkable features date: a grand portal on the so-called Gadagne terrace, retaining walls with arcades, a vaulted gallery later turned into an orangery, a grotto and a nymphaeum decorated with shells and marble, as well as gardens laid out in terraces along a north-south axis, punctuated by staircases and basins. The estate then passed to the Fizicat family, who retained it until the early 19th century. The main residential building collapsed in the mid-20th century, but the gardens and hydraulic structures survived. Owned by the commune, Beauregard is today a public park that welcomes walkers, sports facilities and cultural events.