Château de Penne · Photo: MOSSOT · CC BY-SA 3.03 historic monuments, the oldest from prehistory
Part of the town has been a protected historic area, a site patrimonial remarquable, since 2023. The Culture ministry lists 3 historic monuments in Penne: 2 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 1 inscrit (the second level). Since 1902, Penne has had a listed monument.
Monuments of Penne in pictures
Tap a photo to step through them full screen.
Photos from Wikimedia Commons, copied to our own server, each credited to its photographer with its license; names open the monument’s page.
Where Penne’s monuments stand
Every monument with a point on the ministry’s list; the larger, darker dots are classé.
Tap a dot to open the monument’s page: its record, photo and the monuments around it.
Classé is the higher protection: any work on the building needs the State’s permission. Work on an inscrit building must be declared to the State in advance. Around both, building work in sight of the monument (usually within 500 m) needs the agreement of the architecte des Bâtiments de France.
Points as the ministry gives them: a monument spread over several plots has one point.
2 classé monuments in Penne
Classé is France’s highest protection for a building, held by about a third of the monuments on the list. Each card opens the monument’s page.
ClasséOne inscrit monument in Penne
Inscrit is the second level of protection: the building is worth keeping, and any work on it must be declared.
InscritPenne has had a protected historic area since 2023
Sites patrimoniaux remarquables on the Culture ministry’s list, with the plan in force.
| Area | Created as | Plan in force |
|---|---|---|
| SPR76-114 | – March 16, 2023 | – |
A site patrimonial remarquable protects a whole area rather than one building: inside it, building work follows the area’s own plan and needs the agreement of the architecte des Bâtiments de France.
The list gives no boundaries, so the map can’t show the area.
50% of homes in Penne were built before 1919
Main homes by when they were finished, beside the median compared French town (the tick).
50% of its main homes were built before 1919; the median compared French town has 7.4%. More of them were finished before 1919 than in any other period (50%).
INSEE, census 2023: main homes (résidences principales) only; second homes and empty homes aren’t dated.
Historic monuments in the towns around Penne
| Town | Residents | Monuments | Classé | Protected area |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Penne | 602 | 3 | 2 | Yes |
| Nègrepelisse Tarn-et-Garonne | 5,917 | 5 | 2 | — |
| Caussade Tarn-et-Garonne | 6,803 | 6 | 3 | — |
| Saint-Étienne-de-Tulmont Tarn-et-Garonne | 4,051 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Albias Tarn-et-Garonne | 3,240 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Gaillac | 16,162 | 11 | 6 | Yes |
| Lisle-sur-Tarn | 4,939 | 6 | 3 | Yes |
Penne in brief
The record in Penne starts with Grotte de la Magdeleine, which dates from prehistory. All told, the list holds 3 historic monuments, 2 of them classé. Its housing is old: 50% of homes date from before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town. Part of it has been a site patrimonial remarquable since 2023. Beyond that, the list grew between 1902 and 1954.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Monuments historiques. France protects buildings at two levels. Classé, the higher (about a third of the list), means any work needs the State’s permission; inscrit means work must be declared to the State in advance. The Culture ministry’s Mérimée base lists every protected building, and this page counts them.
- Partly protected. Many entries protect part of a building only (its façades and roofs, a staircase, a painted room). Each counts as one monument, like a fully protected one.
- Where a monument is counted. In the commune named on its protection, moved to today’s commune where communes have since merged. A monument listed for several communes counts in each.
- Sites patrimoniaux remarquables. Since 2016 France’s protected historic areas (the former secteurs sauvegardés, ZPPAUP and AVAP) share one name. Inside one, building work follows the area’s plan and needs the agreement of the architecte des Bâtiments de France.
- What isn’t here. Protected objects (furniture, organs, paintings), old buildings with no protection, UNESCO World Heritage listings and labels such as “Plus Beaux Villages de France” aren’t on this list, so this page doesn’t count them.
- No History Grade yet. Everything on this page is described, not graded: France’s History Grade isn’t built yet.
Questions about the history of Penne
How many historic monuments are there in Penne?
The Culture ministry lists 3 historic monuments in Penne: 2 classé and 1 inscrit.
Which monuments in Penne are classé?
2, among them Grotte de la Magdeleine and Château de Penne.
Is Penne a protected historic area?
Yes: part of Penne has been a site patrimonial remarquable since 2023.
How old are the homes in Penne?
50% of its main homes were built before 1919 (median compared French town: 7.4%).
France has no History Grade yet: this page describes, it doesn’t grade.
Sources: Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée base on POP (immeubles protégés au titre des monuments historiques), October 2026 · Ministère de la Culture, sites patrimoniaux remarquables, October 2026 · INSEE, census 2023 (main homes by build period) · Wikimedia Commons and Wikidata (photos of the monuments, each with its own credit and license) · IGN Admin Express (boundaries) · Medians and percentiles: TownRatings, over compared French towns, updated November 4, 2026. Under the Licence Ouverte / Open Licence 2.0 (Etalab).
Contains public sector information under the Licence Ouverte / Open Licence 2.0 (Etalab): INSEE, DGFiP, the Interior Ministry’s statistics service (SSMSI), the Ministry of Education (DEPP), the Health Ministry’s statistics service (DREES) and the Housing Ministry (Carte des loyers). Commune boundaries: IGN Admin Express.