A famous birth Étienne de La Boétie, future author of the Discours de la servitude volontaire and the friend of Montaigne, was born in this house on 1 November.
Sarlat-la-Canéda
Create an account
Listed historic monument
Maison de La Boétie
XVIᵉ siècle · Sarlat-la-Canéda
Free · just an email · 360° interior
Maison de La Boétie
Birthplace of Étienne de La Boétie
Create an account
1 / 9
Renaissance mansion, Sarlat-la-Canéda
Listed historic monument·XVIᵉ siècle·Mérimée PA00082964
A Renaissance-style mansion built around 1520-1525 on the place du Peyrou, where the writer Étienne de La Boétie, the friend of Montaigne, was born in 1530. The house has been a Listed Monument Historique (France's national heritage listing) since 1889.
XVIᵉItalian Renaissance style
1520Renaissance construction
1530Birth of La Boétie
1889Listed Monument Historique
History
The story, stage by stage
Scroll down to follow the monument's evolution. A one-minute read.
1520–1525
1520–1525Construction
Antoine de La Boétie, criminal lieutenant of the sénéchaussée of Sarlat, has the house built.
1530
1530The birth of Étienne de La Boétie
On 1 November 1530, the future writer is born in the family home.
1889
1889The listing
The house is Listed as a Monument Historique.
2023
2023The Loto du patrimoine
The house is selected by the Mission Patrimoine to represent the Dordogne
2024
2024The restoration
The restoration works begin in September 2024.
Key figures
The great figures involved
The places
Explore the building
1 / 2
Did you know?
3 things to remember
A fashionable façade the façade was built in the style of the Italian Renaissance. The diocese of Sarlat was then led by the Florentine bishop, Niccolò Gaddi, a cousin of the Medici
A house under restoration selected by the Mission Patrimoine (Loto du patrimoine 2023), the house is undergoing a restoration begun in September 2024.
The site's future
What future for the Maison de La Boétie?
The birthplace of Étienne de La Boétie is completing its restoration: what life it will hold tomorrow is still to be decided. Its use remains largely open.
264 habitants ont déjà donné leur avis · la commune s'en saisira.
House of Letters
A place dedicated to La Boétie, Montaigne and humanist friendship: readings, exhibitions, small-press editions.
167 votes
Literary café & debates
Gatherings around the "Discours de la servitude volontaire" and the theme of liberty.
102 votes
A humanists' stopover
A welcome and visitor point on the Montaigne route and the Périgord of the Enlightenment.
73 votes
Writers' residency
Hosting writers and translators in residence in the Renaissance house.
39 votes
Another idea for this place?Propose your vision: it will be put to the vote and passed on to the town.
Create an account
Map & access
Getting there
Place du Peyrou, 24200 Sarlat-la-Canéda · Dordogne
Nearby
Other monuments in Sarlat-la-Canéda
ListedPrivate mansion · XIVᵉ–XVIIᵉ s.
Hôtel Plamon
Gothic, 14th–17th centuries; pointed-arch bays and a wrought-iron Louis XIII balcony.
ListedReligious building · XIIᵉ–XVIIIᵉ s.
Cathédrale Saint-Sacerdos
A former abbey church made a cathedral in 1317, blending a 12th-century Romanesque bell tower with a Gothic nave completed in the 17th century.
Support this monument
Support La Boétie project
Every donation directly funds the upkeep and restoration of this monument.
Secure donation on dons.fondationdefrance.org · opens in a new tab