La villégiature en Île-de-France, une évidence

Abstract

Over thirty years of topographical inventory performed by the service of Ile-de-France have permitted to acquire in-depth knowledge of this territory. Despite the pervasiveness of holiday resort heritage - you can find it in famous places such as Le Vésinet but also in the less conspicuous towns like Porcheville – villégiature has never been the subject of a thematic study. In Ile-de-France, the presence of elites close to the king is the decisive factor underpinning the development of the “villegiatura”. In the 18th century, “maisons de plaisance” and “maisons de campagne” are built in beautiful places, creating a long-lasting typology in three points (“eccentricity”, “simplicity” or “castle”). These characteristics pervade the 19th century without any disruption through geographical and a social extension. Planned lots, “colonies”, scattered lots yearn for the same privileged sites, parks of castle, forests and rivers. Villégiatures integrate significant elements such as belvedere, billiard room, music room, garden with artificial caves; all inherited from past centuries and integrated into urban architecture, so much that the suburban landscape is directly marked by the villégiature landscape.

Keywords

• château
• villégiature
• jardin
• campagne
• villa
• chalet