Azay-le-Rideau series - through the trees

Early châteaux were built like fortresses to protect their owners from invaders, but as the Renaissance swept across Europe, their style shifted to being beautiful and luxurious private residences for the royalty and the wealthy.  King François I is credited with bringing the Renaissance to France.  Under his influence, many Italian designers and craftsmen came to France to help construct châteaux in this style in the Loire valley, including Azay-le-Rideau.

You can make a nice walk all the way around the château and find many different angles to frame this jewel in tuffeau (the local white stone mentioned in the 13 February post).

Azay-le-Rideau series - inside

Azay-le-Rideau has some nice furnishings on the inside.  Generally, the items found inside of the châteaux are not the originals but rather pieces collected that are representative of the times.  The detailing in this room is wonderful and it feels like dinner could be served at any moment.

Ooops.  Sorry for late post.  (Scheduled it incorrectly, duh).

Azay-le-Rideau series - wooded grounds

And if I said the grounds are also a quiet place for reflection, would this be your last visit to the blog?

I really like the fact that the château is nestled in the trees.  It’s a bit more modest than some of the other châteaux here, but then again, this was not built as a royal residence.  As you will see there are a number of royal châteaux that show off their grandeur in broad expanses of open spaces and extravagant gardens.  Nevertheless, I found Azay-le-Rideau to be well worth a visit.  

Azay-le-Rideau series - rowboat on the Indre

This little rowboat in the river next to the château caught my eye as it basked in the winter sun.  I guess it's like everyone else here... trying to dry out and warm up.

The wooded grounds around the château are not extensive, but it is a really pleasant place to walk around and find little details to photograph.

Azay-le-Rideau series - le château

Azay-le-Rideau is a community to the west of Amboise.  The "Azay" part of the name dates back to the name of a local landowner in Roman times.  The "Rideau" (originally Ridel) part comes from the builder of a fortress on the Indre river in the twelfth century.  Ridel d’Azay, a chevalier (knight) of king Philippe Auguste, was charged with the construction to protect the route between Tours and Chinon.  Fast forwarding ahead, the current château was constructed in the early sixteenth century on the same site by Gilles Berthelot, a financier to kings Louis XI and Charles VIII.

The Indre river protects the Château like a moat.  This makes for great photo reflections of the south-west side in the afternoon sun.  It was fortunate to have that sun on this late February outing.