I am back again in the beautiful Centre Val de Loire region with many visits. These are all firsts amazing abundance of marvelous places to see in my belle France. I finally found me a castle that was open, and wow!! first time here and what a find! This is in the town of Lémeré in the Indre et Loire dept 37 just 10 km from Chinon. I will use additional pictures found in my vault to complement the first two posts on the castle in my blog, Therefore here is my take again on the curiosities in the Château du Rivau of Lémeré !!! Hope you enjoy the posts as I.
Try not to repeat from previous post but sometimes is impossible to create a story, so excuse me if I do, The castle was built in 1420, was brought as a dowry by Anne de Fontenay to Pierre de Beauvau, first chamberlain of Charles VII. The king gave him his agreement to fortify the medieval castle which already enjoyed a solid reputation because of the steeds it erected. Moreover, Joan of Arc and her companions came to the estate to look for the horses that were used for the siege of Orléans. Pierre de Beauvau therefore had a veritable fortress built with pepperbox towers, moats and machicolations, a drawbridge and a walkway which today bear witness to the typical fortifications of the Middle Ages. His descendant, François de Beauvau, continued the work by fitting out the splendid stables which were the first in France to benefit from ornamental care. Generations of Beauvau followed one another at the château. The writer Rabelais mentioned Rivau in his Gargantua: “since Gargantua offers the Château du Rivau to Captain Tolmère, as a reward for his victories in the picrocholine wars”! In the 18C, the castle was acquired by the Marquis Michel-Ange de Castellane, lord of Villandry, then various owners succeeded one another until the 20C when the castle became the property of the sculptor Alphonse de Moncel de Perrin.
At the end of the last century, a couple of “magicians” took over the places they were going to transform into an extraordinary castle like those revealed to us in fairy tales. From the monumental Gothic fireplaces to the painted ceilings, the interiors were completely renovated and graced with a theatrical scenography. The whole sound environment of the castle comes to life during the time of lords, tournaments, feasts and musicians, a spectacle that the stables bring to the skies thanks to audiovisual projections. Another magical effect of the castle, contemporary works have slipped into the collection of hunting trophies which display, with great humor, a new art of hunting.
Among the enchantments of the Château du Rivau, the gardens stand out in particular. Reality gives way to the poetry of fairy tales, a whimsical botanical universe. The rose garden stands out from any other since the roses here are selected for their fragrances. An original cast that made it possible to compose a unique conservatory, entirely dedicated to the fragrant rose. The gardens therefore have a collection of 450 varieties of roses, labeled by the CCVS (Conservatory of Specialized Plant Collections). I took my Dad Elio on his last trip always with us RIP, and boys/Rex.
In the 16C, Gabriel de Beauvau had monumental stables built in an innovative style, inspired by the Italian Renaissance. For the first time, the stables left their only utilitarian function to also become ceremonial buildings. They could then accommodate around thirty horses on the ground floor, while the upper floor housed the grooms and served as a storage place. The two wings of the Rivau Renaissance stables form the oldest stables in France, they have kept their mangers from the time and the barrel vaults. It is in these original settings that the current owners have orchestrated seven audiovisual stories that bring the equestrian past of the Château du Rivau to life. The projections evoke the equestrian art of yesteryear and the legendary horses, as well as the rites relating to the world of chivalry. The epic of Joan of Arc is illustrated using sumptuous mobile and sound frescoes composed from illuminations and iconographic documents. My Dad Elio love the Joan of Arc laser show !! RIP
The official Château du Rivau: https://www.chateaudurivau.com/en/
The Touraine Loire Valley tourist office on Rivau castle: https://www.touraineloirevalley.co.uk/cultural-heritage/chateau-and-gardens-of-le-rivau-lemere/
The town of Lémeré on its heritage: https://lemere.fr/tourisme-loisirs-decouvertes-et-patrimoine/
There you go folks, another dandy in my belle France on the valley of the kings ! The Château du Rivau is another must and glad we found it, we will be back, eventually. Again, hope you have enjoy the post curiosities in the Château du Rivau of Lémeré !!! as I.
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 