Marquis de Sade

When I cycled through the nearby town of Lacoste, I noticed the ruins of what must have once been a large castle sitting above the town.

The old and the new, the ruins and a modern sculpture of the Marquis

It didn't take too long to work out who the castle had belonged to as there were signs of the Marquis de Sade adorning almost every street and attached to every cafe in town.

A sad Marquis de Sade

My recollection about the Marquis was sketchy to say the least but I did recall some of his more salacious moments.  I toured around the lovely village of Lacoste and had a tasty café at the Café de Sade before heading up the cobblestones to the castle on the beast.

The narrow cobbled streets of Lacoste

The fashion designer Pierre Cardin now owns the chateau as well as several other properties in Lacoste and he has spent a small fortune renovating it and also making it a centre for arts and music, holding a very successful concert series throughout the summer months, held in the old quarry that has now been turned into a marvelous amphitheater.  I purchased tickets for the July 21st concert featuring the music of Charles Trenet and very much look forward to the event.

amphitheater seating in the old quarry

The chateau was largely destroyed by angry citizens during the French revolution and has stayed in various states of dis-repair until Cardin acquired the property in 2001.  Cardin almost suffered a similar revolt when his plans to build a golf course (really?) near the chateau were met with mass demonstrations by local residents.  Plus ça change!!

There is a modest amount to see when touring the ruins, especially considering the fairly hefty 10 euro admission fee but there are marvelous views of Bonnieux and of course the ever present Mont Ventoux.  Cardin has elected to add some very strange modern art, sculpture like pieces of African animals, quite what the connection is to Lacoste or the Marquis escapes me?

Ruins and some bizarre african animal art

The old part of the village is tiny and quite charming and well worth skunking around with a perfect photo op around every corner.

There also happened to be a market in Lacoste that day (Tuesday) a very small affair though I did see some of the same vendors that were at the Bonniuex market on Friday.  Apart from the cafés there are no significant restaurants in town so eat in nearby Bonnieux or Mènerbes if you want a decent lunch.

You can see the rest of my photos from Lacoste here