The result of an agreement with the State, the label "City of art and history" qualifies territories that engage in an active approach of knowledge, conservation, mediation and support for architectural quality and the living environment. The label is registered with the National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI). The city of Royan is thus classified as a city of art and history.
Remarkable architecture
More than a postcard, the fifties style that emerges from the Royan landscape is now almost a slogan. Bearer of nostalgia, the message evokes a time that those under 20 cannot know. It carries with it the design of soft and bold architectural lines. They are associated with exotic and cinematographic atmospheres, reflections of an era of hope, freedoms and reconstruction. We often draw a parallel between themodernist spirit Many villas are particularly visible in the seaside resort, including the one that French director Jacques Tati used – for artistic purposes – in some of his most famous films, notably his 1958 feature film “Mon Oncle”.
Promoting the heritage of Royan
The renewed interest in Royan's heritage contrasts with the lack of love with which this same avant-garde heritage had been the target in the 1980s and 1990s, only thirty years after its construction on the ruins of entire neighborhoods once covered with classical buildings, ravaged by the bombings of the last war. Bringing it up to date, which coincides with the awareness of the treasures it conceals, is the fruit of another work of reconstruction, moral and emotional this time. Awarded to the city of Royan in November 2010, the label "City of Art and History" undoubtedly contributed a great deal to this long process of reappropriation.
For a decade, Royan has been part of the national network of 200 crowned cities and countries. The Ministry of Culture created this distinction in 1985. Royan is listed alongside Lorient, Brest and Le Havre, which were also destroyed between 1943 and 1945.
The people of Royan involved
In the country of Royan, this action is reflected in the setting up ofanimations in the form of conferences, exhibitions, visits and workshops. The objective goes beyond the simple promotional issue and aims to be educational. This allows locals, but also visitors who spend their holidays in Charente-Maritime, to take an informed look at thecity planning, to learn about his style and identify his historical value.
The residents themselves are involved through their private projects. They renovate their private villas without distorting them. They thus find or preserve the bright and pastel colors of the Royan of the 1950s.
2023 in the Congress Palace has regained its original soul. It is inspired by the spirit that architect Claude Ferret had instilled in it in 1957. He had been influenced at the time by the Brazilian school and more precisely by the Yacht Club of Pampulha, by Oscar Niemeyer. Installed at the Palais des Congrès, a Architecture and Heritage Interpretation Center (CIAP) offers a 500 m² room dedicated to educational activities and two spaces for temporary and permanent exhibitions.
