Château de Villandry
Le château de Villandry est un ensemble entremêlant intimement architecture et jardins, situé à 15 km à l'ouest de Tours, dans le département français d'Indre-et-Loire, en région Centre-Val de Loire.
© Wikipedia/Wikimedia Commons
History
The Château de Villandry owes its international fame to its Renaissance gardens, reconstructed in the early 20th century by Dr Joachim Carvallo on the basis of engravings by Du Cerceau. With 6 hectares of carefully tended gardens and 52 kilometres of pruned boxwood, Villandry is the largest example of a Renaissance garden in Europe. The architecture of the château itself is a remarkable late Renaissance example. Built in 1532 by Jean Le Breton, Secretary of State to François I and master builder of Chambord, it features three angled buildings flanked by square corner towers. The main façade opens onto a terrace overlooking the Cher valley. The gardens are laid out on three terraced levels: the water garden with its large water mirror below the château, the ornamental garden (known as the love garden) with its four flowerbeds symbolising the different forms of love, and the legendary ornamental vegetable garden with nine squares featuring geometric designs that change each season depending on the vegetables planted. A herb garden (medicinal herbs) and a hornbeam maze complete the ensemble.
Architecture
Trois corps de bâtiment en équerre autour d'une cour ouverte. Tours d'angle carrées. Style Renaissance tardif (1532). Donjon médiéval du XIIe siècle intégré. Vue panoramique sur la vallée du Cher depuis la terrasse haute. Jardins en terrasses sur 6 ha : jardin d'eau, jardin d'amour, potager ornemental (9 carrés), jardin des simples, labyrinthe de charmes.
