Agen, Aquitaine 47000

A small 16th century private mansion, redesigned in the 18th century, with a walled garden, in the heart of the historic market town of Port-Sainte-Marie, in Lot-et-Garonne . A few areas of the medieval town remain, with their half-timbered houses and mullioned windows. Built along the main road that runs upstream along the Garonne, on the city's ancient ramparts, the town centre is carefully maintained by a variety of urban developments designed to unify the architectural heritage. The house is a small private mansion with three storeys on the street side to the north and four storeys on the courtyard side to the south. Opposite the main entrance, a wide terrace runs the full length of the façade, joined by two original, timber-framed walkways overlooking an enclosed, flower-filled garden. The east gallery has a Moroccan-style lounge set in a small flat, which has three large windows the west gallery, which is entirely open to the outside, leads to a summer dining room. The garden is closed off by a garage that can be easily accessed from a side street. Finally, two passageways under the house lead to cellars and an underground passageway, which was recently closed up. The front façade, accessible from the main street and in dressed stone, was probably standardised in the 19th century. It is open, with its ten large windows and four small ones full of little panes, or its wooden shutters painted in light green that surround an ancient entrance door, also wooden. On the courtyard side, the rear façade features a large cross window on the first floor and pink brickwork on the east side, while the west side features pointed ashlar throughout. On the ground floor, the façade is rendered white. From the terrace, a stone staircase leads down to the garden, both the terrace and stairs have simple wrought-iron railings. The building is semi-detached on its west side, and opens onto a lane via another door with access to the cellars on the east side. All parts of the house are covered with single or double-sloped interlocking or canal tile roofs.