"The imagination is the spur of delights... all depends upon it, it is the mainspring of everything; now, is it not by means of the imagination one knows joy? Is it not of the imagination that the sharpest pleasures arise?"
Donatien Alphonse François, born 1740, was a French writer whose works contain descriptions of sexual pain and perversions. Internationally infamous, and better known as the Marquis de Sade, he was the lord of the Provençal village of Lacoste from 1774-1778, and also owned part of the commune of Mazan. When he was little, the future Marquis de Sade stayed with his uncle in the village of Saumane-de-Vaucluse. The Marquis died in 1814.
The famous Château de Sade belonging to the Marquis de Sade is situated at the pinnacle of the village of Lacoste. In 1771 the Marquis fled from Paris to escape the scandals created by his erotic writing and outlandish behavior (too liberal for the era). He came to Lacoste and sought refuge in the château which belonged to his grandfather. This huge 11th century château, partly in ruins, today belongs to a professor who has been restoring it for more than 30 years. The château is open to the public during the weekends. The château, it is said, was recently purchased by Pierre Cardin.
Café de Sade
rue Basse
Lacoste
+(04)-90 75 82 29
Located in the lower part of the village, this café is quite simple but typical. Lilianne Segura, of Spanish origin, is called the “mother of Lacoste” for her kindness and willingness to help. The Café de Sade is also a hotel.
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