Clos-Luce Castle – Da Vinci Park

 

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 THE CASTLE BEFORE LEONARDO DA VINCI

• A monument imbued with the history of France

This residence of pink brick was built by Hugues d'Amboise on Gallo-Roman foundations in the reign of Louis XI (between 1107 and 1115). The property was then given by the king to his favourite, Etienne le Loup, a cook's assistant whom he ennobled. The estate, which was called the Manoir du Cloux at that time, was surrounded by fortifications, all that remains today being the watchtower. At the bottom of the park, Etienne Le Loup also had a dovecote, which is still intact, and which could house 500 pigeons.

Bought by Charles VIII on 2nd July 1490, the castle became a royal estate. It was to remain so for two centuries. While the Royal Court resided at the Château d'Amboise in the Loire Valley, the Manoir du Cloux was used as a secondary residence. Charles VIII had the chapel built here for the Queen, Anne de Bretagne, in mourning for her children who died young.

Later, the young Duke of Angouleme, the future Francis I, organised war games in the gardens of the Clos-Lucé. Marguerite de Navarre, the sister of Francis I, wrote the first erotic stories of "L'Heptaméron" there. It was under Francis I that Le Clos-Lucé became the house symbolising the Renaissance movement in France. Advised by his sister, Francis I had painters, architects, and poets, such as Clément Marot, who were seeking royal protection, brought here. But the greatest of those to cross the threshold of Le Clos Lucé was certainly Leonardo da Vinci.

 

HOME TO GENIUS

• A residence touched by the spirit of the Renaissance

Le Clos Lucé is one of the jewels of the Renaissance. With the exception of Le Plessis-les-Tours, it is the only chateau to have been built of both brick and tufa stone, extracted from the region's quarries. It is also one of the most furnished residences in the Val de Loire. Apart from the hovel where he was born in Vinci, Le Clos Lucé was the only home of Leonardo da Vinci. He lived there for 3 years, from 1516 to 1519 and ended his days there.This is what gives the castle its outstanding character. In fact, Leonardo da Vinci spent his life between Florence, Milan, and Rome, offering his services as engineer, architect and artist to the rulers of the day, who acted as his protectors.

It was Francis I who brought Leonardo da Vinci to the Château de Cloux in 1516 and installed him there, on the advice of his sister, Marguerite de Navarre. Leonardo da Vinci travelled across the Alps, carrying with him on muleback three of his most remarkable paintings, the Mona Lisa, St. Anne, and St. John the Baptist, which he completed at Le Clos Lucé. The king granted him a pension of 700 golden Ecus a year, and Leonardo was "free to think, dream, and work". Leonardo da Vinci was treated with real affection by Francis I, who called him "my father", his sister Marguerite, and the whole Court.

 

SINCE LEONARDO

 

After its royal days, and its brief spell of genius, Le Clos Lucé experienced times of gallantry and times of bloodshed, for the beautiful Babou de la Bourdaisière, the favourite of Francis I, lived there, as did some great ladies of easy virtue and Michel du Gast, Henry III's Captain of the Guard, who was to take part in the assassination of the Cardinal de Guise.
In 1660, the Manoir du Cloux became Le Clos Lucé. It then became the property of the Amboise family, who saved it from destruction during the Revolution, cleverly invoking human rights. A listed monument, it has been the property of the Saint-Bris family since 1802. A major restoration was started at Clos Lucé in the 1960s to restore its Renaissance atmosphere, both architecturally and in terms of interior décor, and leave it as Leonardo da Vinci would have known it. The restoration and refurnishing were completed with the restoration of the frescos in the chapel.

Leonardo da Vinci’s last residence

• Now a shrine to the knowledge and inventions of this Renaissance genius

The Château du Clos Lucé, Leonardo da Vinci’s last home, and its park bring together, in a single place and for the first time, the art and multiple visions of the Tuscan creative genius. Stroll as you please through this “knowledge” park and explore the world of Leonardo. Watch as the ideas and intuitions of Leonardo da Vinci – by turns civil and military engineer, botanist and architect of genius – take shape before your eyes.

• Inside the Château du Clos Lucé: the everyday life of Leonardo da Vinci and his 40 fabulous machines.

It was here at the Château du Clos Lucé that Leonardo da Vinci, at the invitation of the King of France Francis I, spent the last three years of his life, putting the finishing touches to his inventions before passing away on 2 May 1519. For the first time in his life, Leonardo da Vinci felt entirely at home in this brick and limestone manor house built in 1471. And now you can catch a glimpse of the private life of this illustrious artist as you visit his bedroom, his kitchen and his study, as well as the Renaissance rooms and the chapel displaying the frescoes painted by his disciples. The forty machines designed by Leonardo da Vinci and produced by IBM using the materials of the time are classified under five headings corresponding to subjects treated by the Master: military engineering, town planning, mechanics, flying machines and hydraulics.

• In the Landscaped Itinerary: a voyage of discovery in the company of Leonardo da Vinci and his disciple

Everything that Leonardo da Vinci imagined was the fruit of his observation of nature. What more fitting, therefore, than to present his creations and inventions against the background of a nature trail or “landscaped itinerary”? Discover the wellsprings of Leonardo’s inspiration in the course of an initiatory journey
punctuated by 16 giant and actionable machines, 32 transparent canvases (3 to 4 m high) depicting the Master’s sketches or details of his paintings, and 8 sound stations featuring the voice of the celebrated French actor Jean Piat.

• In the hall (built in the style of Gustave Eiffel, of “Eiffel Tower” fame): a Leonardo de Vinci “stage design”

A giant picture show and the flying machine. Located in the middle of the Landscaped Itinerary, the Hall is designed to give us an insight into the world of Leonardo da Vinci. Leonardo’s knowledge and technical inventions in all their diversity are brought gloriously to life by a giant screen projection onto the walls of the Hall.

Five kiosks consisting of animated models and interactive terminals illustrate the following subjects:

• Leonardo’s career

• Machine theory

• Leonardo – civil and military engineer

• Leonardo – artist and architect

• Leonardo – the body, the earth and the sky

Under a sound dome, visitors will listen as Leonardo speaks of his dreams of flight and admire a

life-sized model of his flying machine with a wing span of 12 metres. As every year, a host of events and activities will be organised in the course of the 2005 season: on 29 June a special study day will be devoted to the machines of the Renaissance and to a concert given by the Ensemble Doulce Mémoire. This event is part of a colloquium staged by the Centre d’Etudes Supérieures de la Renaissance (Renaissance Study Centre). Pascal Brioist, a lecturer/research specialist at the Centre, is also in charge of devising and monitoring the scientific content disseminated by the Château du Clos Lucé. On the nights of 13 July and 14 August, the site will once again be illuminated on the occasion of special Renaissance extravaganzas.

VISIT OF THE CHATEAU

Le Clos Lucé is where Leonardo da Vinci spent the last three years of his life, painting and working at his thousand passions until 2nd May 1519, the day when he died in, here in this house. You can enter the bedchamber of the Master, his kitchen with its monumental fireplace, his fine Renaissance halls of brick and stone, and his delightful chapel, built by Charles VIII for Anne de Bretagne.
Let your imagination work in the mysterious entrance to the secret underground tunnel which, according to an oral tradition, linked the Château d'Amboise to Le Clos Lucé, and which King Francis I used to visit Leonardo. And discover his 40 fabulous machines, 4 centuries ahead of their time, made with materials of the time.

• What to see during your visit to Le Clos Lucé:

Рthe watchtower, the last piece of medieval architecture surviving here, a reminder of the time when Le Clos Luc̩ was a fortified dwelling.
– the bedchamber of Leonardo da Vinci, where he lived and died, with its monumental fireplace, the Renaissance bed, the cabinets of secrets made of ivory-encrusted ebony, an Aubusson tapestry…

• LANDSCAPES : An journey of exploration with Leonardo da Vinci and his disciple

Leonardo da Vinci saw, imagined, and understood everything by observing nature.
His major creations and inventions can be seen on a landscaped route round the park of Le Clos Lucé, in particular 32 translucent depictions 3 to 4 metres high representing the details and sketches of the Master's paintings.
Sit under the great plane tree (the starting point of the walk) to listen to "Leonardo the visionary" and enter into the magic of his talents. In the course of this introductory tour, discover the many sources of his inspiration and go with him step by step, thanks to the 8 audio stations telling the public about the secrets, the thoughts, and the teaching of Leonardo.

• The World of Leonardo da Vinci thanks to the Technologies of Today

Located at the edge of the park, the Hall enables you to go further into the life and worlds of Leonardo da Vinci. Do you want to know everything about him? The keys to knowledge are handed over to you here. 5 themed kiosks, scale models, and interactive terminals develop the themes studied by this visionary: Leonardo's career – The theory of the machines – Leonardo as civil and military engineer – Leonardo as artist and architect – Leonardo, the body, the earth and the sky. And see a giant image show projected on the wall of the Hall. You see all the intuitions of Leonardo da Vinci. Admire the life size flying machine twelve metres across. It symbolises the whole of his passion for flight all by itself. It is the voice of Jean Piat that draws you into the Master's fascination with things heavier than air.

LODGING

See the listing of the Hotels in Amboise

PRACTICAL INFORMATIONS

Château du Clos Lucé – Parc Leonardo da Vinci
37400 Amboise – France

Opening dates
The Château and the Hall are open daily all year round (except 25 December and 1 January). The landscaped itinerary is open daily from 1 March to 15 November inclusive.

Times
January: 10am-6pm
February-june: 9am-7pm
July-August: 9am-8pm
September-October: 9am-7pm
November-December: 9am-6pm