A couple of old fossils -- the
one that's dark on top is in pretty good shape
The rest of our tour was of four chateaux built as pleasure palaces. The commanding position on the top of the hill is now replaced typically by waterfront property (often on the water). The King's uncontested power in France and better warfare technology made castle defenses unneeded and obsolete. Architectural homage would still be paid with decorative moats, corner keeps, etc. -- but usually decorated with Italian Renaissance motifs. The spiral staircase which drives up the keep is now replaced by straight center stairs (we've owned two separate houses with that feature because we couldn't afford a spiral staircase).
Such a place is Chateau de Azay-le-Rideau. In 1418, a fortress was burnt down by the dauphin (Charles VII) over an insult and the garrison (of 354 men) wiped out. On the same site around 1518, a financier built an Italian style building which was all the rage as the French had invaded Italy and brought back many craftsmen (and a number of ideas on how to enjoy life more). This area of the river had to be drained to drive wooden pilings down for a base (Venice did the same thing and both seem to be standing today).
Style meant a lot as you can see from the approach to the castle from the town below. This chateau has an unusual L shape:
Here's a shot looking up the front stairs to get some idea of the intricate detail:
Here's a closeup of one of the many ermines, the symbol for Queen Claude de France who was Francis I's king. (His symbol was the salamander which is found in abundance here as well as many other places we will see as Francis was a great builder, a sort of Edifice Rex.)
Towers were merely decorative, but really decorative as this picture shows:
Compare this one with the black and white towers of Anders meant to repel real armies!
Inside the chateau is fully furnished but none of the pictures were decent. Here is one taken from the inside to give you an idea of some of the inner views:
What Azay-le-Rideau lacked for a pleasure palace was a garden. But never fear, our next (and last) stop of the Sunday was to the queen of the Loire gardens (and maybe all French gardens): Villandry. Please join us by clicking here.
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