Saint-Point, a 12th and 14th century castle, classified as a Historic Monument and a “Maison des Illustres” by the French Ministry of Culture, became the family home of the poet and politician Alphonse de Lamartine in 1820. Lamartine was one of the major figures of French Romanticism and a politician engaged in the social struggles of his time. He took part in the 1848 Revolution and was Minister of Foreign Affairs for the Second Republic. He contributed to the abolition of slavery and the death penalty for political reasons, and to the introduction of universal suffrage. When he inherited Saint-Point castle, he decided to restore it in the Anglo-Saxon neogothic style that he had discovered on a trip to England, the native country of his wife Mary Ann Birch. Lamartine had a balcony in the Oxford style, a neogothic style “portique” and English-style gardens created. During the visit of this historic castle, you will discover the personality and the life of an aristocrat of the 19th century through the visit of Lamartine's bedroom and study, with original period furnishings, the 18th century dining room, his private secretary's study, and the Lamartine Museum. Located in the large salon on the ground floor, the museum displays the poet's personal objects and souvenirs, preserved by his niece, Valentine de Cessiat. Visitors can also explore the orchard, vegetable garden and former greenhouse, as well as the poet's tomb built beside the château, next to the Roman church of Saint-Point, where there are two paintings by Marianne de Lamartine.
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