In 2017, the Château de l'Esparrou, a magnificent 19th century building, was used as a set for Catherine Deneuve and Diane Kruger in the film "Tout nous sépare" by Thierry Klifa.
In neo-classical style, of renaissance inspiration, the castle develops a surface of 400m2 on 4 levels. The mezzanine, which essentially contains an individual apartment and outbuildings, the first floor, which has a vestibule and a large hall, 3 bedrooms, a large dining room, a library and a music room, a second floor, with other bedrooms and finally a second floor, under the roofs.
The castle has two round towers framing a large glass roof on the east side. Its staircase, wide, reveals an undeniable charm. The façade on the west side is more classical, with a series of aligned rectangular windows. Inside, it is characterized by two large fireplaces on which are irons representing the letters I and S, meaning "Izarn" and "Sauvy", Josephine Izarn having been the wife of Joseph Sauvy.
The latter, second in the Sauvy lineage, built his fortune here thanks to the 800 hectares of vines that make up the wine estate. Château de l'Esparrou is above all a wine estate that produces quality wines thanks to its particularly sandy soil and record sunshine. This domain existed moreover before the construction of the castle.
A little bit of history...
Acquired in 1875 by Joseph Sauvy, a Perpignan wine merchant from one of the "new dynasties" that prospered thanks to the arrival of the railroad in Roussillon, the estate, dedicated to monoculture wine growing, was for the Sauvy family, for many years, only a property of report, where they lived only a few weeks a year in the old mansion adjoining the farm buildings.
However, at the end of the 1870s, Joseph Sauvy created an ornamental park planted with Mediterranean species on the end and slopes of the hillside facing the sea.
In 1889, when he decided to have a castle built on the highest point of the park, he approached Viggo Dorph Petersen (1851-1937), a Danish architect recently settled in Perpignan. He was the appointed architect of the Bardou family, the same ones who ordered the castle from Valmy to Argelès sur mer, from Aubiry to Céret, Ducup de Saint-Paul to Perpignan.
The Friends of Esparrou
The Association " Les Amis de l'Esparrou " has set itself the following objectives
"The protection, preservation, promotion and study of the architectural, cultural and natural heritage of the Esparrou castle, its park and its environment. »
It is developing a project based on a theme, the intimate, declined around four axes that cross at the same time the history of the field, an essential artistic presence, a strong positioning in the field of art education with young people, a questioning on society and the environment.
The annual program is aimed at all audiences (families, young people, disabled people, schoolchildren, the general public, etc.) by offering concerts, shows, creations in the field of new technologies, exhibitions, conferences, training courses, artistic and cultural education workshops and artist residencies in connection with the environment and the heritage of Esparrou.
After the creation of the scientific committee in January 2016, the Château de l'Esparrou created in 2017 a pedagogical and artistic committee, composed of artists from all disciplines, leaders of artistic and environmental associations, and education professionals.
The aim of this committee is to reflect and intervene in the organization of projects for school, extracurricular and school-age audiences in the fields of heritage, the environment, music, theater, dance, plastic arts, literature, circus arts, etc...
The interest of the pedagogical and artistic committee is to have a strong presence in the field, supporting the association's daily work with its multiple skills. It is in contact with the scientific committee.
Esparrou Castle
Route de Saint-Cyprien,
66140 Canet-en-Roussillon
Tel: 07 60 21 29 55
http://www.chateau-esparrou.com/
Association " les Amis de l'Esparrou " (Friends of Esparrou)
11, avenue Frédéric Mistral
Residence Le Grand Sud
Bat C
66140 Canet-en-Roussillon
Phone: 06 63 71 22 87
Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator
(free version)