‘Lust’s passion will be served; it demands, it militates, it tyrannizes.’ Thus spake the Marquis de Sade, perhaps while surveying the Luberon valley from one of his château’s windows in the hill town of Lacoste. Perhaps the tyranny he felt was captured by the sculptor who created the bust that strangely stands on a pedestal outside his infamous château in Provence, the head of which is encased in prison bars. Perhaps just before the king’s men came and hauled his silk-clad ass off to the Charenton asylum. He espoused extreme forms of freedom, one of which he lent his name to for all time. All told, he spent thirty two years in various prisons and asylums, but nevertheless continued writing. His château, now a ruin overlooking the spectacular Luberon valley, is being restored by none other than Pierre de Chardin, who also owns the residence of Casanova in Venice (I see a theme developing here…). It is said the Marquis can occasionally be seen ensconced on an exquisite Louis XVI giltwood chair, his arm flung across a luxuriously carved rococo table, gulping from a crystal goblet full of blood-red bordeaux, looking bored and somewhat bemused.