5 architectural gems in Nouvelle-Aquitaine

Neo-Basque architecture became popular from the early 20th century in the Basque Country, with the start of seaside tourism. The Villa Saraléguinéa, built in 1909, is a classic example of this type of architecture. 

The local movie theater 'Enea Getari' was entirely renovated in 2020 in this typical neo-basque style by the Fondation du Patrimoine and has reopened its doors to the public for movie screenings and cultural activities. 

Up until the Revolution, dovecotes were reserved for landowners and the nobility. The more pigeonholes a dovecote had, the larger the landowner's fiefdom was, and therefore, his fortune. With the advent of chemical fertilizers, pigeon breeding became less attractive, and so did dovecotes. Consequently, they were often left to fall into disrepair. 

The Jean-de-Blanc dovecote in Saint-Astier was abandoned and had become a danger to the public. It was restored with support from the Fondation du Patrimoine to its former glory, and is now where the annual celebration of the festival marking the beginning of the grape harvest takes place.
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The City of saintes was once a major Roman city at the crossroads of trade routes. The town has many monumental adornments, including its emblematic amphitheater completed between 40-50 CE. 

Today, the amphitheater in Saintes is the best-preserved in Western France and is the subject of major restoration and redevelopment projects to give it back its original purpose: to be a place of entertainment and celebration.

Along the Creuse river, the city of Felletin boasts a rare sight: a diamond mill, established at the end of the 19th century. As production peaked in the 1930s but declined in the 1950s as a result of competition from other countries, the site was not used anymore. 

Since the disappearance of diamond cutting in Felletin, a local preservation association along with the Fondation du Patrimoine are fighting for this site to be preserved as a building and as the recipient of a part of France's industrial heritage. 

Two magnificent vases (7.8 ft or 2.38 m high) sculpted by Louis-Léon Cugnot and decorated with bas-reliefs embelished the Place de Brèche square in the city of Niort. After a century exposed to harsh weather, exhaust fumes, and other pollution, the Brèche vases were desperately in need of renovation.

Louis-Léon Cugnot's vases underwent six months of restoration. Some parts of the sculptures had to be entirely recreated. Today, you may see them displayed in the main courtyard of the Bernard d'Agesci museum in Niort.