CLOS LUCÉ CASTLE - LEONARDO DA VINCI PARK

Situated just a few meters from the Royal Château d'Amboise, Château du Clos Lucé - Parc Leonardo da Vinci is a pleasure residence for the kings of France. It is also the last home of the painter and inventor Leonardo da Vinci. In 1516, as he grew older and the Italian public began to prefer him to Raphael and Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci accepted François ^I 's invitation to come to France. The young king, a great lover of art and culture, had fallen in love with the Italian genius. He knew that this would be his last trip, and that he would never see his native Tuscany again. He took three paintings with him on this trip: the Mona Lisa, Saint John the Baptist and Saint Anne.

Francis ^I appointed him "First Painter, Engineer and Architect" to the king, and installed him next to his Amboise château: at Le Clos Lucé. It was here that Leonardo da Vinci let his imagination run wild, working on one project after another, navigating from one discipline to another: from codexes to models, from observation of nature to special effects shows created to impress the court.

Leonardo da Vinci, a great architect, also imagined the plans for a grandiose palace in Romorantin, to make it the new capital of the kingdom. He also drew up plans for state-of-the-art riverworks to bring water to the city. The Italian genius also designed a double-revolution staircase. This is said to have inspired the architect of the Château de Chambord. But the project never saw the light of day, and the artist died in 1519.

In just three years, Leonardo da Vinci had imbued the site with his boundless creative imagination. This is what the Saint Bris family, owners of Le Clos Lucé since 1855, would like you to discover today. In the intimacy of his home, discover his workspaces, notebooks, drawings, models... The landscaped garden and wooded park also hold many surprises, like an open-air museum showcasing the machines behind his inventions. Since 2022, your discoveries have continued in the "new Leonardo da Vinci painter and architect galleries". An immersive video-mapping show takes you on a journey through his masterpieces and preparatory drawings. Upstairs, an educational exhibition immerses you in his architectural works. You can also pilot a flying machine over Romorantin's royal palace, modeled in 3D in a video game!