The Villa Lemot lies in a picturesque park, the so-called Domaine de la Garenne Lemot.
The park was created at the beginning of the nineteenth century by the sculptor François-Frédéric Lemot and belongs to both the communities and Gétigné Clisson in the Loire-Atlantique and the community Cugand in the department of Vendée.
The area was the former hunting ground of the Lords of Clisson.
Clisson owes the construction of the Villa primarily to the brothers Cacault. François, the elder one, was a diplomat and appointed as the representative of France to the Holy See in Rome.
During this time he collected numerous sculptures, more than 1,000 paintings and over 5000 pictures.
His younger brother Pierre was a painter and met the sculptor François-Frédéric Lemot. During the Revolution, Lemot had made a fortune and got actively involved with the city, which was destroyed during the Vendée.
He bought the castle of Clisson and planned the reconstruction of the city of Clisson.
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More InformationPierre, who had lived more than 20 years in Rome, took on the construction of a school for art and architecture and a museum for his brother’s collection.
At the beginning of his career, Lemot also lived in Rome, with a scholarship, the “Prix de Rome” of the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture.
Given the preference of three art lovers, the city of Clisson, was rebuilt in Italian style, which reminds at Tuscany. The architect Pierre Louis Van Cleemputte started with the construction of the villa in 1824.
Among others, Bartholomew, the son of Friedrich Lemot realized the pavilion, the colonnade and the interior design. The construction was completed in 1866.
The Villa Lemot houses the collection of François only for a short time. Pierre, who had appointed Lemot as manager of the collection, struggled in vain against the sale of the collection to the city of Nantes.
We were particularly impressed by the rustic outbuilding of the villa. On the square in front of the house of the administrator with the pigeon tower, a subterranean space served as a pantry and refrigerator.
In the courtyard one feels like in Italy. The landscape project of Lemot was rounded off with an idealized landscape with a park, ancient statues and temple.
The General Council of the department of Loire-Atlantique bought the property in 1968. Within the following years it was included in the list of the monument historique.
Please read on > A boat trip on the Loire river
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Disclaimer: The visit of Clisson was on invitation of Le Voyage à Nantes and Clisson Tourist Office. Many thanks for it! All impressions and opinions are our own ones.
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