At the foot of the hills, along an ancient road that ran alongside the Revermont, the ancient fortified town of Meillonnas still has part of its castle and enclosure. It owes its fame to the earthenware it produced in the 18th and 19th centuries.The château was probably built around 1350 by the son of Humbert de Corgenon, bailiff of Bresse. From the 15th to the 18th century, it belonged to the La Chambre-Seyssel, a Savoyard family who sold it in 1740 to Nicolas de Marron, uncle of the founder of the earthenware factories. Since Gallic times, Meillonnas has been associated with the manufacture of ceramics ("In villa Mellionaco"... Mellona = Gallo-Roman estate), as the clays in the area are of excellent quality. At the end of the 16th c., a glazed earthenware called "green service" was distributed throughout the region and beyond Lyon. From common, utilitarian pottery made in tupinières (tupin = pot), the focus shifted to the "fabrique en fayance" founded in 1760 by the Marron family, in their château. The proximity of the local waterway, the Sevron, contributed to this activity. The Marrons owned the château until 1839, when earthenware production ceased. The finest pieces can now be seen at the Musée du Revermont in Cuisiat and the Musée de Brou in Bourg-en-Bresse. Note that the street signs are made of earthenware!
The Saint-Oyen church was largely rebuilt in the 17th and 19th centuries, but the Notre-Dame chapel bears witness to its medieval past. It was founded by the knight Jean de Corgenon in 1382, as attested by the inscription engraved on the keystone. He commissioned frescoes to decorate the church, which can still be seen today and constitute the most complete ensemble in the département (classified MH). The Italian-inspired artist remains anonymous, but the influence of Giotto can easily be seen. On the outside, the bell tower is topped by an imperial-style dome.
Meillonnas boasts a number of fine old houses, some of them half-timbered, such as the former presbytery opposite the church. There is even a "rue des colombages". There are also three fortified houses "hors les murs" (outside the walls) on the chemin de Beauregard, dating from the 16th century, when the second enclosure was built (the first dates from the 15th).
Also worth a visit near the château is the Balland park, crossed by the Sevron river and featuring a small waterfall: a truly romantic haven of peace. And here and there, works of art adorn the green spaces: the work of artist friends of Roger Vailland, whose house can be seen in the street that bears his name since 1989 (grave in the communal cemetery).
A small roadside building, which can be likened to a gazebo, originally stood at the corner of the Viriat and Treffort roads. But it was moved because it was in the way of traffic. It is linked to the house visible at the far end of the park, a 19th-century colonial Reunion-style house. On this island, the Creole name "Guétali" is given to this type of construction, meaning "look at him". It's a small corner pavilion used to watch what's going on in the street without being seen!
