May 2009
Intermediate to advanced
544 pages
13h 13m
English
010
Château du Clos Lucé, Amboise, France
The Final Home of Leonardo da Vinci
Southwest of Paris, the fertile Loire Valley was home to the kings of France and their associated nobility throughout the Renaissance. The valley contains hundreds of châteaux, many of which are open to the public, built by kings and noblemen starting in the 10th century. In one of these châteaux, Leonardo da Vinci lived and worked for the last three years of his life.
He came to the Château du Clos Lucé in 1516 at the invitation of King François I. The King lent da Vinci the château and gave him a pension on which to live. Today, the château has been restored to its Renaissance state and contains a museum of da Vinci’s inventions.
It also contains da Vinci’s bedroom (where he lived and died) and his work room. There’s even an underground passage that is said to lead to the King’s nearby château and was used by King François I when visiting.
When da Vinci arrived in France, he brought with him three precious paintings: The Virgin and Child with St. Anne, St. John the Baptist, and the Mona Lisa. All three are now in the Louvre in Paris. While at Clos Lucé, da Vinci continued painting, ...
