The Château de Castille in Uzés, former residence of the Baron de même nom, is on sale for the first time in over 65 years, complete with 8,600 square feet of space and a collection of contemporary masterpieces, all for the very reasonable price of $9,811,487.
Located in Languedoc-Roussillon, about 25 miles west of Avignon, the Provençal castle was bought by art historian Douglas Cooper, who Sotheby’s Realty calls the “owner of one of the most important 20th century art collections,” in 1950.
A close friend of a slew of contemporary artistic geniuses like Paul Klee and Georges Braque, Cooper was friendly enough with Pablo Picasso that the Spaniard had five “monumental frescos” installed in the château, each designated as historic monuments by the French government. Typical Gallic bureaucracy: ten million bucks and you won’t even be able to repaint.
Friends of the Baron de Castille called his mansion the “château of a thousand columns,” which is fine, if you’re into the Doric style, which we at French Morning refer to internally as “poor people columns.”
Rich Corinthian leather may be an invention of a marketing company, but Corinthian columns are not. No one told the Baron that, it seems—or his contractor was getting a such a sweet deal on discount Doric columns that he eventually started putting them around small patches of grass for no apparent reason:
The 7-bedroom, 8-bathroom château is nevertheless a beautiful space with a surprisingly modern interior (aside from that Greek dining room/torture chamber), with classic Provençal southern exposure, staff quarters, and so many kitchens that Sotheby’s can only peg the number at “several.”
Probably best of all: despite the art that comes with the property, the estate itself looks like something out of a Cézanne painting…
Interested parties can visit Sotheby’s International Realty for more information.
Château de Castille
Uzés, Languedoc-Roussillon, 30700 France
€8,900,000
