Château of Azay-le-Rideau
Encyclopedia
The Château of Azay-le-Rideau (azɛ lə ʁido) was built from 1515 to 1527, one of the earliest French Renaissance
châteaux. Built on an island in the Indre River
at Azay-le-Rideau
, its foundations rise straight out of the water.
and mayor of Tours
, began reconstructing Azay-le-Rideau's earlier medieval castle, that was part of his wife's inheritance. However, it was his wife, Philippe Lesbahy, who directed the course of the works, including its central internal staircase (escalier d'honneur) that is Azay's greatest most remarkable feature, inspired by the staircase at Châteaudun
.
When Berthelot was suspected of collusion in embezzlement he was forced to flee from incomplete Azay-le-Rideau in 1528; he never saw the château again. Instead, the king confiscated the property and gave it as a reward to one of his high-ranking soldiers.
Over the centuries, it changed hands several times until the early part of the twentieth century, when it was purchased by the French government and restored. The interior was completely refurbished with a collection of Renaissance pieces. Today, the château is open to public visits, and is operated by the Centre des monuments nationaux
.
The central staircase is the main feature a visitor meets with upon entering. It is embodied within the building, rather than rising helically, partly embedded in the wall and visible from outside in the French way, a feature that is familiar at the Château de Blois
. It rises in a dog legged fashion turning 180 degrees around a dividing wall at each floor and intermediate landings that open onto loggias that face the courtyard.
The sculptural details at Azay are particularly remarkable. On the ground floor, 3 fluted pilasters on high bases lead up to the first loggia that displays the salamander
and the ermine
, emblems of Francis I and Claude de France. The large dormer windows of the open attic are partly in the high attic wall and partly in the enormous rafters of the steep roof. The king-posts appear as pillars resting on the beams that traverse the high attic walls.
The Romantic generation rediscovered the appeal of Azay-le-Rideau. Honoré de Balzac
called it "a facetted diamond set in the Indre." Now Azay-le-Rideau is surrounded by a distinctly nineteenth-century parklike English landscape garden with many specimen trees, especially exotic conifers: Atlas cedar, and bald cypress
and sequoias from the New World.
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
châteaux. Built on an island in the Indre River
Indre River
The Indre is a river in central France, left tributary to the river Loire.Its source is in the département Cher, near Préveranges. It flows through the départements Cher, Indre and Indre-et-Loire...
at Azay-le-Rideau
Azay-le-Rideau
Azay-le-Rideau is a commune of the Indre-et-Loire department in central France.-Château:The château of Azay-le-Rideau was built from 1515 to 1527, one of the earliest French Renaissance châteaux...
, its foundations rise straight out of the water.
History of the château
Gilles Berthelot, Treasurer-General of the Finances of France under King Francis IFrancis I of France
Francis I was King of France from 1515 until his death. During his reign, huge cultural changes took place in France and he has been called France's original Renaissance monarch...
and mayor of Tours
Tours
Tours is a city in central France, the capital of the Indre-et-Loire department.It is located on the lower reaches of the river Loire, between Orléans and the Atlantic coast. Touraine, the region around Tours, is known for its wines, the alleged perfection of its local spoken French, and for the...
, began reconstructing Azay-le-Rideau's earlier medieval castle, that was part of his wife's inheritance. However, it was his wife, Philippe Lesbahy, who directed the course of the works, including its central internal staircase (escalier d'honneur) that is Azay's greatest most remarkable feature, inspired by the staircase at Châteaudun
Châteaudun
Châteaudun is a commune in the Eure-et-Loir department in northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of Eure-et-Loir.-Geography:Châteaudun is located about 45 km northwest of Orléans, and about 50 km south-southwest of Chartres, on the river Loir, a tributary of the...
.
When Berthelot was suspected of collusion in embezzlement he was forced to flee from incomplete Azay-le-Rideau in 1528; he never saw the château again. Instead, the king confiscated the property and gave it as a reward to one of his high-ranking soldiers.
Over the centuries, it changed hands several times until the early part of the twentieth century, when it was purchased by the French government and restored. The interior was completely refurbished with a collection of Renaissance pieces. Today, the château is open to public visits, and is operated by the Centre des monuments nationaux
Centre des monuments nationaux
The Centre des monuments nationaux is a French government body which conserves, restores, and manages historic buildings and sites which are the property of the French state...
.
Building style
The long proportions and the sculptural decorations are Italianate, in the new antique taste, but the bastion corners capped by pointed cones, the vertical stacks of grouped windows separated by emphatic horizontal string courses, and the high sloped slate roof are unmistakably French. The playful fortifications, which Berthelot had to justify to the king, gave an air of traditional nobility to Francis' newly-ennobled treasurer. The ill proportioned squat medieval donjon towers on the added wing and the added turret where the medieval wing was demolished were added in the early 19th century to give the illusion of a completed chateau.The central staircase is the main feature a visitor meets with upon entering. It is embodied within the building, rather than rising helically, partly embedded in the wall and visible from outside in the French way, a feature that is familiar at the Château de Blois
Château de Blois
The Royal Château de Blois is located in the Loir-et-Cher département in the Loire Valley, in France, in the center of the city of Blois. The residence of several French kings, it is also the place where Joan of Arc went in 1429 to be blessed by the Archbishop of Reims before departing with her...
. It rises in a dog legged fashion turning 180 degrees around a dividing wall at each floor and intermediate landings that open onto loggias that face the courtyard.
The sculptural details at Azay are particularly remarkable. On the ground floor, 3 fluted pilasters on high bases lead up to the first loggia that displays the salamander
Salamander
Salamander is a common name of approximately 500 species of amphibians. They are typically characterized by a superficially lizard-like appearance, with their slender bodies, short noses, and long tails. All known fossils and extinct species fall under the order Caudata, while sometimes the extant...
and the ermine
Ermine
Ermine has several uses:* A common name for the stoat * The white fur and black tail end of this animal, which is historically worn by and associated with royalty and high officials...
, emblems of Francis I and Claude de France. The large dormer windows of the open attic are partly in the high attic wall and partly in the enormous rafters of the steep roof. The king-posts appear as pillars resting on the beams that traverse the high attic walls.
The Romantic generation rediscovered the appeal of Azay-le-Rideau. Honoré de Balzac
Honoré de Balzac
Honoré de Balzac was a French novelist and playwright. His magnum opus was a sequence of short stories and novels collectively entitled La Comédie humaine, which presents a panorama of French life in the years after the 1815 fall of Napoleon....
called it "a facetted diamond set in the Indre." Now Azay-le-Rideau is surrounded by a distinctly nineteenth-century parklike English landscape garden with many specimen trees, especially exotic conifers: Atlas cedar, and bald cypress
Taxodium
Taxodium is a genus of one to three species of extremely flood-tolerant conifers in the cypress family, Cupressaceae...
and sequoias from the New World.