I come back to you to the sublime fairy tell region of the Loire ,the valley of the kings, I have found me more older pictures that should be in my blog of this wonderful castle. I like to tell you more of the Château d‘Azay le Rideau, part II !!! It was impressive as all of them in my belle France. Do read my other post on it as it has more text,and info on the town as well, Azay le Rideau is located in the department of Indre-et-Loire 41, the Centre-Val de Loire region, On January 1, 2017, it was integrated into the new community of towns Touraine Vallée de l’Indre. It is located in the Loire-Anjou-Touraine Regional Natural Park. Hope you enjoy the post as I.
The Château Azay le Rideau is one of the most beautiful Renaissance architectural marvels along the Loire valley It was built early 16C skillfully combining French architecture and Italian-Flemish influences In the 17C , a monumental entrance with a grand staircase was built with a half moon courtyard In the 19C 3 generations of the Marquis de Biencourt focused the restoration to elevate Azay to the rank of national treasure.
The Grand staircase is composed of four tiers of bays that are staggered in relation to the other windows of the logis, The emblems and initials of the salamander and ermine of François I and Claude de France (daughter of Anne de Bretagne), This Grand staircase very modern in 16C France was built at the center of the main building, with nice landings and a handrail sculpted into the wall attest the quest for comfort in its conception.
You move on to the Psyche’s room, located beyond the Great Hall , the room was used as a bedroom during the Renaissance, It owes its name today to the wonderful tapestries adorning its walls telling the story of Psyche a methodological theme very much in vogue in the Renaissance, There are scenes depicted on them with the central one telling the story of Psyche persuaded by her sisters, the young girl tried to discovered the identity of Cupid and glimpses his face by the light of an oil lamp, A drop of burning oil falls on the god, who at once flees, abandoning her,
You move into the Antechamber which served as a waiting room for people waiting to be received by the lord into his private apartments, Portraits of kings hangs on the wall from the Renaissance to the 17C, Louis XII can be seen on the left of the fireplace, then a series of portraits of François I, Henri II, and Henri III, Facing the fireplace portraits of Henri IV, Louis XIII, and Louis XIV shown standing.
The King’s bedroom where Louis XIII spent two nighs in 1619, The cabinet motifs shows the macabre episodes of the Thirty Years’ War which devastated Europe, The walls are adorned with 17C tapestries after the cartoons by Simon Vouet illustrating two episodes from Jerusalem Delivered , an epic by Torquato Tasso a celebrated Italian Renaissance poet,
You go up the large attic given extra height because the walls supporting the trusses are raised above floor level, The original framework is oak,which was cut on the authority of François I in 1517 in the forest of Chinon.
The Château d’Azay le Rideau was taken over by the government of France in 1905 bare of all furniture,It was initially furnished by loans from public collections notably the Musée du Louvre and the Musée National du Moyen Âge, Since 2015, special partnership with the Centre des monuments nationaux has allowed for the restoration of about 100 pieces of furniture, carpets, objects, and works of arts incarnating the art of living in the 19C. A must to see, sublime !!
The Azay-Chinon-Val de Loire tourist office on the castle: https://www.azay-chinon-valdeloire.com/en/fiches/chateau-of-azay-le-rideau/
The Touraine Val de Loire tourist office on the castle : https://www.touraineloirevalley.co.uk/cultural-heritage/chateau-of-azay-le-rideau-azay-le-rideau/
The town of Azay le Rideau on coming to town: https://www.azaylerideau.fr/venir-a-azay
There you go folks, another dandy castle in the Loire! The Château d’Azay le Rideau is another worth the detour castle me think. We enjoy it and our quest to see them all continues, the castles of the Loire are awesome. A good reason to leave out Paris indeed.
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 