convent of the Visitation

The Convent of the Visitation in Romans-sur-Isère is a former monastery in the Drôme department of southeastern France. Built around a 15th-century fortified house, it served as home to the Visitandine nuns for nearly three centuries and today houses the International Shoe Museum (Musée international de la Chaussure).

Who founded the convent, and when?

The Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary was founded in Annecy in 1610 by Saint Francis de Sales and Saint Jane de Chantal. Nuns from the order arrived in Romans more than two decades later. On 17 June 1632, Charles de Claveyson, governor of Romans, together with his mother Renée du Peloux, petitioned the bishop of Valence to send nuns to establish a Visitation house in the town.

What made the foundation possible?

The project depended on a donation from François de Gaste and his wife Isabeau Livat, owners of a fortified house known as the Château du Recteur. They handed over the property on condition that their four daughters - Renée, Elisabeth, Françoise and Madeleine - be admitted to the convent. The first nuns moved into the building that same year, 1632.

How did the building take its current shape?

Construction continued without interruption until the end of the 17th century, a period that produced the convent chapel and its grand staircase. The chapel was consecrated on 23 August 1667. A second wave of building came in the 19th century: from 1860 onward, the central block of the present-day complex and the south wing along Rue Saint-Just were raised, spacious gardens were laid out, and the three wings were linked by an arcaded gallery.

What happened when the nuns left?

The 1905 law on the separation of Church and State led, in 1906, to the definitive expulsion of the nuns from Romans. The vacated buildings were first taken over by a girls' secondary school (école supérieure de jeunes filles), and after the Second World War they housed a college and an annex of the Lycée Triboulet.

Why is there a shoe museum here now?

By 1971 the buildings stood empty and at risk of demolition. That year, the decision was made to install the International Shoe Museum in the former convent. Romans-sur-Isère had long been a center of shoemaking, so the historic rooms found new purpose as exhibition space devoted to the craft and its history. The site is now one of the town's main visitor attractions, combining the 17th-century chapel and staircase with the 19th-century wings and their arcaded gallery, alongside the museum's collections.

Frequently asked questions

Where is the former Visitation convent in Romans-sur-Isère? In the center of Romans-sur-Isère, in the Drôme department, on Rue Saint-Just.

When was the convent built? The first nuns settled there in 1632, and the chapel was consecrated in 1667.

Who financed the convent's foundation? Charles de Claveyson, governor of Romans, his mother Renée du Peloux, and the couple François de Gaste and Isabeau Livat, who donated their property for the purpose.

What is housed in the building today? The International Shoe Museum (Musée international de la Chaussure), established there since the 1970s.

Is the building a protected historic monument? Yes, the former Visitation convent is listed as a historic monument (reference PA00117028).