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onjour!
We have discovered a castle in the Loire valley that is as unique as it is strange... we are very
pleased to share with you both the delight that we felt visiting it, and the passion of its owners,
the Carvallo family. The castle of Villandry is less than 6 miles from Azay-le-Rideau and about
9 miles from Tours. This residence, the last of the great Loire valley castles built in the Renaissance,
owes its fame not only to its Spanish-inspired interiors but also and mainly, to the magnificence of
its gardens.
But before continuing, please remember that you can access and read all the newsletters already
published at http://www.francemonthly.com/
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A Tragic Meeting at Villandry
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Great events in history seem to always return to their sources and favor the same spots...
The castle that we can admire today is built on the foundations of a medieval fortress.
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The Castle of Villandry
(Click photo to enlarge)
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A tragic episode of history occurred there in 1189, at the foot of the fortress' keep.
This is indeed where the king of France, Philippe II August ("the Conqueror") who was a brilliant
warrior and a master strategist, demanded to meet the king of England, Henri II Plantagenet,
after having defeated him at the battle of Azay-le-Rideau earlier that year. Philippe II August
informed him of the terms of the peace treaty that would require him to relinquish part of his
land holdings in France. Legend has it that the king of France was so moved by the English
sovereign's poor state of health during their meeting that he offered him a seat, but Henri II
refused and kept standing, held up by his guardsmen. His fragile and already angry condition
was no doubt exacerbated by the wrath incurred at the sight of his son, then Count of Poitou
(and future Richard Lionhearted), who had fought at the king of France's side. King Henri II
had vowed to avenge this slight in blood, but died 3 days later, damning the son who had betrayed him.
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Villandry: an Unusual Destiny
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Jean le Breton ("the Briton") was Minister of Finances under king François I. He had the castle
of Villandry built in the early 16th century, on the foundations of a medieval fortress on the
left bank of the river Cher. His trade may have been business, but he also had exceptional
architectural experience: he had been the construction manager for the castle of Chambord for
many years and had also been the French Ambassador to Italy, where he had studied landscape design.
Originally, the village and the estate were together known as the "Colombiers" ("Dove Roosts") but
the minister found it too common a name. As he was in the good graces of the royal family, he was
allowed to change not only the name of the village and castle, but also his own. Jean le Breton
soon became "Monsieur de Villandry". This castle, just like the one at Azay-le-Rideau, was a means
for its owner to acquire important social standing, so Jean le Breton and his family didn't hesitate
to invest their entire fortune to improve the castle and its park. Whether it was due to his honesty
or his cleverness, Jean Le Breton was never dishonored or dispossessed of his belongings as were the
owners of Azay-le-Rideau and Chenonceau. In 1619, Jean le Breton's grandson, Balthazar, was even
conferred a title of nobility and became the "Marquis de Villandry".
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Recipe for April 2005 |
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Pear Tart
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"Modern" Architecture
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The castle of Villandry has a unique and endearing character for many reasons. The entrance courtyard
is not enclosed by the main body of the building, but on the contrary, it is open to the outside.
Therefore, the castle loses any defensive function and presents itself instead as a welcoming
residence that offers a delightful view of the river flowing down beneath it.
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View from the Donjon
(Click photo to enlarge)
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Jean le Breton chose to keep the original donjon that he integrated perfectly into the Renaissance-style
construction, as a symbol of his attachment to a feudal system that was not of his time. The spiral
staircase was redone to match the 12th century one; however, you now climb to the top of it just to
admire the splendid gardens, no longer to watch over the surrounding areas between crenelations as
soldiers did in the Middle Ages. As for the geometry of the ensemble, main buildings and gardens, even
though it is very apparent, it is also very original as it is not particularly symmetrical. Unlike the
castle of Versailles which was built in the following century, there are no right angles in the
positioning of the buildings nor are there any grand perspectives, parallel or perpendicular, inside
this castle. At Villandry, all is optical illusion. At the beginning of the 20th century, Doctor Joachim
Carvallo modified a few elements of the ensemble of the site, but only to restore it as close as possible
to its original state. He was able to follow Jean Le Breton's work despite the fact that the site and
floor plans had gone missing.
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A Great Love Story
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Joachim Carvallo, a young Spanish doctor, came to France in 1893. He was to study in Paris where he
joined a medical research group and quickly fell in love with a young American intern, Ann Coleman,
the daughter of a master blacksmith from Lebanon, Pennsylvania.
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Canals Through the Gardens
(Click photo to enlarge)
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They got married in 1899, and lived in Paris where their first three children were born. Seven years
later, they sunk all their savings into their dream family home: the castle of Villandry. They left
Paris for a new life where they could engage in their passion for restoration. They worked on this
exceptional propriety and its surroundings, while also supporting the cause of other older residences
in need of repair. Doctor Carvallo became a French citizen and then a military doctor during WWI, when
he converted part of his estate into a hospital to take care of the wounded, with his wife's help. When
the war ended, they once again returned to their passion. They transformed the romantic park, originally
created by Jean Le Breton, by designing a series of stunningly beautiful gardens that we can still
admire today.
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The Most Beautiful Gardens of France
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The gardens of Villandry were added to the inventory of the French Historical Monuments in 1934.
A true Renaissance-inspired masterpiece, they stand out with their perfect geometry and their paths
that intersect at right angles.
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Gardens - View from the Castle
(Click photo to enlarge)
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A true spectacle greets garden lovers: canals cut through the gardens, terraces cascade down many
levels, and the variety of colors from hundreds of species of plants and flowers are a visual delight.
However, the visitor will find that these gardens truly owe their harmony to the great and soothing
simplicity of their design. Doctor Carvallo was inspired by the gardens of the Renaissance but did
not select any one given model. A true esthete with creativity influenced by his Spanish culture,
he drew up each one of his gardens separately as so many courtyards arranged one next to the other.
He started off by cutting down the trees from the original romantic park, clearing out the moats
and taking over the general shape of the terraces and the great pond for his design. The new gardens
were then set up on this basis. He chose mainly annuals for the lower plants since, of course, they
require permanent ongoing care. The water garden was assigned to the highest parcel where it was
laid out as a vast lake that also supplied water to the fountains, canals and gardens simply by
following the principle of communicating vases.
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The Love Garden |
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Doctor Carvallo, with the help of two fellow Spanish men, designed the garden to be the centerpiece
of his work. Each clump evokes one of the following four feelings of love: tender love with hearts
and masks formed by edges of boxwood, passionate love with bleeding hearts, fickle love with clumps
shaped like horns and fans, and tragic love with knife blades. Inside each clump, the specific choice
of both the flowers and their individual colors was intended to emphasize the power of the feeling of
love in question. Orange was for tenderness, red for tragedy, yellow for adultery. Much to our delight,
the geometric ensemble is perfectly completed by two fountains marking the intersection of the paths.
Further on down, flower beds traced like embroidery pick up the patterns of the Maltese Cross, as well
as those of the Basque Country and the Languedoc region. The Love Garden actually spreads out to the
south to counter the perspective effect. So when you look at the garden from the castle, the two paths
will seem to run parallel to each other when in fact they do not, no doubt the only deliberate symmetry
"flaw" in the Villandry gardens! This is why the gardens only really come into their own from a view
that towers over them, and the very reason why they are so unique. They must first be visited from the
vantage point of the castle.
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The Vegetable Garden
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The pragmatic Doctor Carvallo had created a vegetable garden during WWI to feed his hospitalized
patients. This was his favorite garden, laid out over 9 completely different squares with a clever
mix of 250,000 vegetable and flower plants that have only a decorative purpose today, but one of
very high design.
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Vegetable Garden at the Castle
(Click photo to enlarge)
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Nine gardeners oversee the care and regular replacement of all the plants in order to preserve the
color harmony during all growing seasons. Autumn is the best time of year to admire the crimson color
of the decorative cabbages. There are actually more than 40 different vegetables that transform this
garden into an extraordinary and huge multicolored checkerboard of almost 108,000 square feet! The
bright red of the tomatoes, the purple and white mix of the eggplants, the different shades of green
of the lettuces that contrast beautifully with the red, yellow and green peppers or the orange pumpkins
and other squashes and melons... all these plants show off their most beautiful colors, at the foot of
the long stem roses in bloom. You will certainly feel like a child visiting a magical world.
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Invitation to Travel |
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We must not forget to mention the herb garden where aromatic and medicinal plants are grown. A knot
garden completes this group of exhibits unique in the world, one that brings close to 350,000 visitors
per year to the heart of the Valley of Kings. Henri Carvallo, the doctor's grandson, is still the
owner of these enchanting grounds where he passionately continues his grandfather's work. Rarely has
any horticultural undertaking reached such levels of sophistication. The gardens of Villandry are sheer
beauty in a natural showcase. Enjoy your visit!
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