Christer Sfeir wrote about his visit to Pézenas in southern France and described the Hôtel de Flottes de Sébasan, a stone house from the 16th century. According to local tradition, Anna of Austria, the queen of France and mother of Louis XIV, had stayed there during a visit, he wrote. Sfeir recounted that Anna was a Spanish princess who married Louis XIII in 1615 when she was 14 years old. After 23 years without children, she gave birth to her son Louis in 1638. When the king died five years later, the then four-year-old son became king and Anna regent. Sfeir wrote that the royal family was forced to flee Paris during the Fronde and that the rebellion later contributed to Louis XIV's decision to centralize power around himself. He also mentioned Molière's stay in Pézenas during the 1650s with his theater company, which received patronage from the Prince of Conti. Sfeir wrote that Molière encountered people and environments there that later became subjects of his satire. According to Sfeir, Louis XIV visited the city in 1660 and took over the reins of power the following year. He concluded by stating that the house still stood, despite the monarchy and its power struggles being part of history. #Pézenas #historia #Molière (translated)
