Rue Gabatum

It was built between 1492 and 1495. Its illustrious owner was Catherine de Médicis, who would have offered this house to the pilgrims of Saint-Jacques de Compostelle, which is why it is called "Maison St Jacques" or "Maison de Bois". The posts of the frame, treated as twisted columns, are crowned with busts of characters on a background of scales bearing shields where we recognize a dolphin and three fleurs-de-lis. The three sides of the capital of the corner post are decorated with a crouching figure resting his hands on his head, a jester wearing a marotte on his shoulders and a wild man holding a club, decorative themes dear to the sculpture of the Berry region in the late Middle Ages and early Renaissance. The presence of this wild man is subject to various interpretations, one of which suggests that at that time, since part of the population could neither read nor write, the wild man constituted a link between civilized humanity and the spirits of the wilderness. Today, this house is home to the Maison Culturelle de Levroux, which holds exhibitions throughout the year.