Lavilledieu, Rhône 07170

Rf 68724Dd: We are going to tell you the story of this magnificent hamlet house dating from 1830, a place that is both atypical and surprising. A house that embodies everything I love and which, I'm sure, will win you over!We're off to Lavilledieu, a charming Ardche village just a few kilometres from Aubenas. A bit of history is essential if you're thinking of investing in the Ardche.Lavilledieu is surrounded by numerous hiking trails and superb villages to discover, such as Vogu, Balazuc, Largentire and, of course, Aubenas. One of the advantages of Lavilledieu is also its proximity to major towns.But let's get back to the house itself, built in 1830, perhaps on the foundations of Saint-Martin church! Here's what I discovered: you don't make history up, you tell it!The hamlet of Bayssac, where this house is located, is an ancient Gallo-Roman villa, the origin of the commune. The parish of Saint-Martin-de-Bessac is mentioned in a 10th century document. Benedictine nuns from the Abbey of Saint-Andr-le-Haut in Vienne founded a priory in Bayssac.The church of Saint-Martin, a Romanesque church in Lavilledieu, is dedicated to Saint Martin, who evangelised the region and built the first church in Lavilledieu in the Bayssac district around 535. A few years later, the nuns left Bayssac to build a convent on a small hill, the heart of today's village. This convent is the origin of the village's name, derived from the Latin villa dei, meaning God's domain. The houses of the Bas Vivarais are distinguished by their arcaded terraces, testimony to a rich silk-making and craft industry past. These houses adopt a southern style, typical of the vine and olive-growing regions, and are solidly built of limestone.Generally three storeys high, these houses are built over an overhanging vault forming an open shelter, under which are the stables and cellars. The first floor, reserved for living quarters, is accessed by a stone staircase leading to a covered terrace, the couradou or laouzo. This structure, with its arcades and rear door opening onto the garden, provides a natural draught to cool or ventilate the house, hence the name couradou. It could also be used to grow silkworms, store mulberry leaves or install hatcheries.The terrace served multiple functions: rest, hospitality, shade and drying.This house once belonged to Serge Tekielski, known as Candide), an antique dealer from Lyon who moved to Bayssac in 1968 to live in this beautiful traditional house. There he collected works of folk art, exhibited and promoted singular artists (such as Grard Lattier, Lena Vandrey and Philippe Dereux), and founded a publishing house, the first to publish Pierre Rabhi. His Petit Muse du Bizarre became a symbol of Art Brut and cultural decentralisation. The house became known as the Muse du Bizarre.We have an appointment with his daughter for a guided tour of this 718 m mansion spread over three floors, which has retained all its character. We climb an imposing stone staircase, arriving on a vast covered terrace, paved with large limestone stones, facing a sublime Louis XIII-era entrance door. At this point, I ask myself: what am I going to discover?A large entrance hall opens onto a vast living room on the right and a kitchen to be completely renovated on the left, as well as a small bathroom. Behind this is a living room. At the end of the corridor are large bedrooms with terracotta floor tiles and high vaulted ceilings. There is 218 m of living space, and of course some finishing work is required (kitchen, bathroom, electrics, plumbing, heating, etc.).From the kitchen, a wooden staircase leads to a 200 m attic. The roof, which was completely redone in January 2020, has a shallow slope, is covered in canal tiles and finished on the facade with a three-band sponge roof. The high-ceilinged attic can be converted.And finally, the highlight of the show: the 300 m vaulted cellars, which are high, dry and in very good condition, with direct external access. It w