Since the end of the 16th century, the local nobility and the bourgeoisie have administered the city.
These families left behind the most beautiful private mansions still clearly visible today.
Description
The Ponsson Hotel (known as Ponson du Terrail) is adorned with pretty small windows.
The ancestor of the family, Anthoine Ponsson, lived in Simiane in 1575 as a "mesnager" or owner-operator.
From the 1625th century onwards, the family became more bourgeois and allied itself with the notables of Simian. Indeed, Séris, the son of Anthoine, was able to buy a position as tabellion (a public officer acting as a notary), which he transferred to his son Mathieu upon his death in XNUMX.
This notary's office, the oldest in Simiane, according to the analysis of the minute books, remained in the family until Alexis Ponsson, married to Thérèse d'Archias du Clos, who chose a career in arms and added a particle to his surname.
His son Ferdinand, also an officer, was stationed in Montmaur (Hautes Alpes) when his son Pierre-Alexis was born, the future author of the 21 volumes of Rocambole, which he would sign "Vicomte Ponson du Terrail".
The Ponson house was bought in 1930 by the painter Coubine, already owner of the Ostau Montjallard, to accommodate his friends passing through Simiane (the painter Picasso probably stayed there).
The current house is the result of the merger of two houses
Rates / opening
Prices
Free access.