# Palais épiscopal The former palace of the bishops of Sarlat - **Place**: Sarlat-la-Canéda - **Address**: Rue Tourny, 24200 Sarlat-la-Canéda · Dordogne - **Period**: XIVᵉ–XXᵉ siècles - **Type**: Civil building - **Protection**: Listed historic monument - **Mérimée record**: PA00082932 - **Coordinates**: 44.8886, 1.2166 A former episcopal palace whose north façade was built, for the most part, between the late 15th and early 16th century, beside Saint-Sacerdos Cathedral. Having become the town hall after the Revolution, it now houses the tourist office and exhibition rooms. ## History - **1317 — The creation of the bishopric** A bishopric is created in Sarlat; it will need a palace. - **1318 — The first bishop** Raymond de Roquecorn takes up his post - **Fin XVᵉ- fin XVIIᵉ — Enlargement** The episcopal palace is enlarged - **1900 — A civic transformation** The town hall moves out; a covered market and a theatre are installed. ## Figures - **Raymond de Roquecorn · évêque de 1318 à 1324 · First bishop of Sarlat** The first holder of the episcopal see of Sarlat, created in 1317, he took office on 2 July 1318. The early bishops did not yet have a true palace and lodged in a former abbot's residence. - **Nicolas Gaddi · évêque de 1533 à 1546 · Bishop of Sarlat, cardinal** A Florentine prelate and humanist, Niccolò Gaddi was bishop of Sarlat from 1533 to 1546 and a cardinal. His presence bears witness to the links between the Périgord and the Italian Renaissance. ## Places - **The Italian Renaissance loggia · A Florentine accent crowning the northern façade** This gallery crowning the northern façade is the most distinctive architectural element of the building. Local tradition attributes it to the Florentine bishop Nicolo Gaddi, administrator of the see of Sarlat between 1533 and 1545, while the Base Mérimée suggests a later addition contemporary with the installation of the theatre around 1900. Whatever its exact date, it brings to Sarlat an architectural vocabulary directly inspired by the palaces of the Italian Renaissance. - **The prison of the Officiality · Un espace fossile redécouvert en 2001** Rediscovered during renovation work in 2001, this transitional space between the cathedral and the bishop's palace preserves the remains of the abbot's residence dating from the 12th century and of the first bishop's palace of the 15th. It contains a Romanesque bay, a spiral staircase, a vaulted cell and a small attic room: this was the ecclesiastical prison described in a 1778 procès-verbal. Access to it is now restricted, but the space can be enhanced through digital scanning. ## Key facts - **1533 — Niccolò Gaddi becomes bishop of Sarlat** The first bishop to be appointed by the King of France, he brought to the town the cultural and artistic influence of the Italian Renaissance. - **1904-1910 — A loggia more recent than it appears** The loggia crowning the north façade dates not from the Renaissance but from 1904. The architect Rapine decided to remove the lauze stone-slab roof and to add a third storey made up of a gallery and a bartizan. - **3 vies — Town hall, courthouse, tourist office** At the Revolution, the palace took in the town hall, the courts and the police; today it houses the tourist office. ## Frequently asked questions ### Why does Sarlat have a bishops' palace? Because a bishopric was created there in 1317. The first bishop, Raymond de Roquecorn, took office in 1318 and at first lodged in the former abbot's house, for want of a palace. ### What is in the palace today? The tourist office occupies the ground floor. The building has also been a town hall, a courthouse, a covered market and a theatre over the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. ### Is the loggia really Renaissance? It has the vocabulary, but probably not the date. Tradition credited the Florentine bishop Niccolò Gaddi, but the works of 1904-1910, which replaced the lauze roof with a third storey, are the more likely origin. ### Who was Niccolò Gaddi? A Florentine prelate and cardinal, bishop of Sarlat from 1533 to 1546. The first bishop of Sarlat appointed by the King of France, his presence speaks of the Périgord's ties with the Italian Renaissance. ## Links - Full page: https://opusheritage.com/en/villes/sarlat-la-caneda/palais-episcopal - Town: https://opusheritage.com/en/villes/sarlat-la-caneda - Reference: https://www.pop.culture.gouv.fr/notice/merimee/PA00082932 - Reference: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q22987998 --- Source: OPUS Heritage, https://opusheritage.com/en/villes/sarlat-la-caneda/palais-episcopal. Content published by the town of Sarlat-la-Canéda.