Buy a castle that comes with several Picassos

There are plenty of castles for sale but this one has a unique difference.  

Chateau de Castille – near Uzes in the South of France – is on the market for around US$9.66 million (approximately $13 million). The two hectare property comes with a formal knot garden, seven bedrooms, two drawing rooms, a library and 500 square metres of living space. 

It also comes with five murals by renowned 20th century Spanish artist, Pablo Picasso. 

The castle has an impressive history. Dating back to the 13th century, it was renovated in the 18th century by the owner at the time, Baron de Castille, who added columns, walkways and stone ornamentation, including a balcony and oval colonnade.

A friend of Picasso, as well as other artists such as Braque and Klee – art collector Douglas Cooper had come to be the property’s owner in the mid-twentieth century. Picasso put in the concrete engravings in the early 1960s in the style of similar murals in Barcelona. They must stay in the property, due to its status as a “historic monument”.

The property owes its distinctive decor to Dick Dumas, an American interior designer. 

Alexander Kraft, chairman and CEO of Sotheby’s International Realty France, told the Wall Street Journal the castle “definitely needs some updating”, but “structurally it’s quite sound”.

Uzes Sotheby’s International Realty has the listing.

Uzes, Languedoc-Roussillon 30700, France. Photos: Uzes Sotheby’s International Realty