MAISON ACHILLE

Achille House was built on the outskirts of the central medina around the mid-19th century. Adjacent to the Sidi Ayed cemetery, which no longer exists. Its initial function appears to have been as temporary housing for government officials, during the French protectorate years. Among its residents was Paul Gauckler, appointed in 1892 as chief inspector of the Tunisian Bureau of Arts and Antiquities (now the National Heritage Institute), which he headed from 1896. In 1897, Gauckler and La Blanchère published the first inventory of the Alaoui Museum, which would later become the Bardo Museum. In 1902, in collaboration with other colleagues, he also published the inventory of the Sousse Museum. At the end of the 20th century, the building was acquired by the Zerzri family, originally from Djerba. The Zerzri family lived there for nearly a century, until its sale to TUNISTORIC in 2025. Research carried out by Sihem Lamine.