Jean-Jacques Rousseau collection - Charmettes house in Chambery

Nestled in the hills above Chambéry in Savoy, the Charmettes house held a pivotal place in the life of the philosopher and writer Jean-Jacques Rousseau. He lived there during one of the happiest periods of his youth, between 1736 and 1742, alongside Madame de Warens, a figure who was both tender and maternal. "A secluded house on the slope of a valley was our refuge, and it was there that, in the space of four or five years, I enjoyed a century of life and pure, complete happiness…" (Reveries of the Solitary Walker). A place of inner peace, freedom, intellectual flourishing, and the awakening of his sensitivity, the Charmettes house witnessed the birth of his ideal of harmony between humankind and nature. Classified as a historical monument in 1905, the Charmettes house has since been the property of the City of Chambéry, of which Rousseau said that one tasted "the sweetness of life" there.