This exceptional 14th-century castle and former fortress boasts picturesque formal gardens and an idyllic location in the hills of Uzès, France, but those features aren’t the main draw. It’s the five frescoes on its walls, designed and installed by Pablo Picasso himself, that make this property next-level spectacular. A friend of the estate’s former owner, British art-historian and art-collector Douglas Cooper, Picasso visited the chateau in 1962 and engraved five of his drawings on the loggia walls over the course of that year. Several parts of the property are now classified as historic monuments. Beyond the stone façade, the three-story, traditional-meets-rustic interiors are by noted American decorator Dick Dumas. There are several drawing rooms with slatted beamed ceilings and views of the gardens, plus two dining rooms—one bears a fresco done in 1977 by Iraqi painter Naman Hadi, while the other showcases rows of columns. The home also includes seven bedrooms. Out on the grounds, a large oval colonnade and fountains mark the entrance from the main road. Those beautiful formal gardens, complete with a maze, can be found at the rear of the home. Stats7 Bedrooms8 Baths8,611 sq. ft$10.3 million Contact: Uzès Sotheby's International Realty, 33-0-4-66-03-10-03; sothebysrealty.com
A 14th century chateau in Southern France , once owned by legendary British art historian and collector Douglas Cooper and was purchased by Picasso in 1962 , who subsequently designed and installed five frescoes on the loggia walls , is on the market for $ 1 m . The frescoes and other parts of the property have been classified as " Historic Monuments " by the French government . One of the interior rooms was also decorated with a fresco by Naman Hadi , the Iraqi painter , in 1977 .