Hôtel de Saint-Aignan

The Hôtel de Saint-Aignan, located at seventy-one Rue du Temple, is identifiable by the colossal Corinthian pilasters that structure its courtyard façade. Designed by the architect Pierre Le Muet between sixteen forty-four and sixteen fifty, this mansion was originally built for Claude de Mesmes, the Count of Avaux, who was a key negotiator for the Peace of Westphalia. To maintain symmetry on the irregular plot, Le Muet designed a series of false windows on the left side of the courtyard to mimic the right wing, covering a section of the twelfth-century Wall of Philip Augustus.