Hotel Ferraris

The Hotel Ferraris

The Hotel Ferraris, 29 rue du Haut-Bourgeois is a historical masonry of the town of Nancy. It is a construction of the beginning 18th century, of traditional style built by Germain Boffrand. Currently it is the seat of the Inventory of the historic buildings of DRAC Lorraine.

Origins of the Ferraris family

The family of Ferraris, originating in Italy of North Florence (Italy), entered to the service of the Duke Charles V of Lorraine (1675-1690). The Italian origins of the Ferraris family are recalled by marking the residence nancéienne its armorial bearings consisted the lilies of Florence.

The son of the duke Charles V of Lorraine, Léopold 1 {{er}} returned in its Lorraine states in 1698, introduced Louis de Ferrari (1685-1723), chamberlain of the emperor of Austria, great chamberlain and adviser of State of the voter of Truces. Its marriage in 1715 with Anne-Therese de Fontette, young lady of honor of the Lorraine duchess of , confers to him a legitimacy in the nobility room.

It seems to have made build this Private mansion as from 1717. A dated fireback 1722 (preserved at the Lorraine historical Museum of Nancy) indicates probably the installation date of the family Ferraris, street of the High-Middle-class man. Louis de Ferraris dies in 1733 and his wife in 1754, the family then leaves the hotel which bears its name. One of the wire François (Lunéville, 1726-1814), more known under the name of Joseph-Jean, becomes an important cartographer in the Netherlands.

An architecture of Germain Boffrand

This unit was built by Germain Boffrand. The architect appears in his aptitude to use an ungrateful space (a trapezoid), by safeguarding a symmetry of frontages on court which mask important disparities between the four covered bodies of high slate roofs. In fact, the rectangular court makes covered on the street of the Middle-class man. The body of passage, which ensures the connection between the two wings, is in corbelling on a horn to which stereotomy testifies to an undeniable know-how.

In the scheduled principal frontage, the three central spans open in a fore-part broader and higher than the side parts, conferring on the unit a real balance still reinforced by the use of broad chains of angles to embossings and cords underlining the levels.

The decoration of the central span includes/understands, on the first level, a key with head of bearded man grimaçant, on the second level, a decoration in leaf associated with the pediment of the French window. This one opens on a broad balcony with wrought iron railing carrying the figures of Ferraris-Fontette.

On the third level, a vast crawling carved cartouche framed of lions and delimited by leathers originally carried the armorial bearings of the two families.

Interior court

The large porch stamped by a mascaron representative Saturn of a great quality of execution gives access to the residence and opens on a large interior court.

The fountain of Neptune, located in the axis of the principal body, decorates the court of which it constitutes a decoration " basic of scene ". It was formerly equipped with two carved groups representing of the loves and the dolphins, which unfortunately disappeared after the First World War.

One can still see the vestiges of a painted decoration: it is about a reason for false cave with the representation of congregations and shells. It evokes the environment of nymphées. If the author of paintings is not known, the most probable assumption is to allot this trompe-l'oeil to the workshop Giacomo Barilli which realized under ceiling of the staircase.

The staircase with Italian

Under the porch a large glazed door opens on the right on the imposing volume of the staircase. This exceptional left turning staircase with Italian with three flights. The departure is rolled up starting from a round amount, it is decorated arabesques or spread flowers of lily and the rinceaux ones with decoration of sheets. In the first amount of right-hand side figure of the owners Ferraris-Fontette is decorated.

The slope of staircase is very beautiful, of a perfect execution. Its traditional drawing is in the pure tradition of the works described by Louis Fordrin metal worker of the buildings of the king Louis XIV.

This slope of staircase by its characteristics points out the style of the metal worker Jean Lamour, but taking into account the date of realization of the work, it seems not very probable that he is the author.

On the first floor, the stage is supported by arcs diaphragms with decoration in leaf.

One of the great originality of the staircase resides in decor done in trompe-l'oeil of the Loggia which ensures the connection between the parts on both sides of the stair-well on the second floor. Decor done in trompe-l'oeil, as well as the ceiling painted, are allotted to the Italian painter Giacomo Barilli, died in 1723, raises Francesco Galli da Bibbiena (1659-1739) with which one had, a few years earlier, the decoration of the opera of Nancy. The lower part of the gallery with wood balustrade, is painted in trompe-l'oeil with the greyness. The magic of the illusion of trompe-l'oeil is had what fascinated the visitor, this architecture simulates decoration boxes of stylized sheets associated with shells.

In the main roads, two opposite cartridges carry, one of the trophies, the other of the musical instruments. This decoration of inspiration baroque answers the cutting of the day made of curves and counter-curves which open on the prospect for the painted ceiling of populated clouds of birds and heads joufflues children. Under the Empire, the ceiling is equipped with a painted sheet eagle whose head follows the indications of the wind vane of the roof of the building property of the family of Vioménil.

The interior decoration

The interest of the interior decoration and the distributions of the Ferraris hotel consists of the harmonious cohabitation between two decorative programs. Realized, with nearly one century of variation, they are today still a beautiful illustration of the evolution of the taste

the right wing: An example of the principles of German Boffrand.

According to the Parisian practice, each part is equipped with skirting of support (high of 80 cm out of 3 walls) and height (all the height of the cold exposed wall) in a party innovating in Lorraine where one was rather accustomed to entirely covering the walls of woodworks. Pursuant to the principle of the hierarchisation of the rooms, the visitor enters an anteroom initially (green cabinet today information center of the inheritance) to the ceiling deprived of decoration but underlined by a softening (element rounded between the wall and the ceiling) vigorously profiled then penetrates in a part equipped with military trophies semi-antiques, semi-Eastern.

the left wing: An example of the production of Joseph Beunat.

If the skirtings preserved their provisions of origin, the doors and softenings are entirely taken again by the ornemanist Joseph Beunat (manufacture in Sarrebourg of 1805 to 1824, then in Strasbourg, finally in Paris). Strongly influenced by traditional Antiquity, it draws many models of winged geniuses carrying laurel wreathes or trumpets. These reasons were carried out in stucco moulded, painted or gilded.

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