Amboise Things to Do

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“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.”
— Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)

From the window of his bedroom at Clos-Lucé, de Vinci could see la Chapelle de St-Hubert and the royal castle. La Chapelle de St-Hubert is da Vinici's final resting place; but it was not where his 1518 will stipulated that he be laid to rest. That was the Royal Church of St. Florentin on the grounds of Château d’Amboise (see von.otter’s Amboise Things To Do: Chateau d’Amboise: La Chapelle de St-Hubert Part I + II for more details).

Da Vinci sketched this scene. A reproduction of this sketch stands outside at the back of Clos-Lucé, showing what Château d’Amboise looked like in the early 1500s, when today’s town was not obscuring most of it. Today the sketch is in the Royal Collection at Windsor Castle. The original is on view every day from da Vinci’s bedroom window.

Clos-Lucé is a 20-minute walk from Château d’Amboise, 547 yards away.

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“I have been impressed with the urgency of doing. Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Being willing is not enough; we must do.”
— Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)

The ground floor chapel of Anne de Bretagne, the spouse of Charles VIII, served this queen, not at least to mourn her children, who had died at an early age but also to escape the turbulence of life at Court. The fresco over the door is called the “Madonna of the Light,” because her feet rest on a half circle of light. In Latin she is called “Virgo Lucis.”

The Virgin of the Light is one of three 16th century frescoes in the Royal Chapel at Clos-Lucé. All three were painted by Francesco Melzi, Leonardo’s favorite. Other frescos in the chapel are “The Annunciation” and “The Assumption.”

In da Vinci’s will, which was drawn up by Maître Guillaume Boreau, Notary of the Royal Court, he left all his books, his painting paraphernalia and his drawings to Melzi

The Château is open daily all year round (except 25.December and 1.January). Times: January, 10am-6pm; February-June, 9am-7pm; July-August, 9am-8pm; September-October, 9am-7pm; November-December, 9am-6pm

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“Every now and then go away, have a little relaxation, for when you come back to your work your judgment will be surer. Go some distance away because then the work appears smaller and more of it can be taken in at a glance and a lack of harmony and proportion is more readily seen.”
— Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)

In 1660, the manor’s name changed from Manoir du Cloux to Le Clos-Lucé. The Amboise family acquired the property; they are credited with saving it from destruction during the Revolution. Since 1802, it has been owned by the Saint-Bris family.

Listed as un Monument historique, a major restoration was began at Clos-Lucé in the 1960s, with the aim to restore its architecture and its interior decoration. The restoration and refurnishing were completed with the restoration of the frescos in the chapel.

The work was entrusted to Bernard Vitry, Historic Monuments architect, and executed by craftsmen specializing in the art of wood carving, stone masonry and glass making, using the same techniques as did their ancestors in the 15th and 16th centuries.

Leonardo’s bedroom is one of the first rooms on the tour. There is a popular print in circulation that shows François I at da Vinci’s bedside, holding the dying genius in his arms. This is a 19th-century romanticized version of da Vinci’s death; the king was not in Amboise when da Vinci dyed on the 2nd of May 1519.

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“You can have no dominion greater or less than that over yourself.”
— Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)

In addition to the machine models that dot the landscape of Parc Léonardo da Vinci some the art by the genius of the Renaissance has been reproduced in a modern way and is on display.

Larger-than-life circular vinyl prints of da Vinci sketches have been hung from trees. With the light filtered through the trees these translucent reproductions take on an ethereal quality.

Etienne Le Loup, the favorite of Louis XI and owner of Clos-Lucé at one point, built a dovecote (see photo #4), which still stands at the bottom of the park. It could house 500 pigeons; it must have been a giant mess!

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From north of the River Loire the main entry into Amboise is over the stone arch bridge, Pont Maréchal Leclerc.

It is named for Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque (1902-1947), a French Second World War general; in 1952 he was made Marshal of France posthumously.

Born Philippe François Marie, Comte de Hauteclocque, he changed his name in 1945 to use the alias he used while working for the French Resistance, Jacques-Philippe Leclerc. Today in France, he is known as Maréchal Leclerc.

General Leclerc, representing France, a member of the Allied Forces, signed the instrument of surrender aboard USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay, Japan, when the Japanese agreed to unconditional surrender.

Leclerc came from a family of old-world, country nobility; his direct ancestors had served in the Fifth Crusade and in the Eighth Crusade of Saint King Louis IX in 1270. Family members continued to serve France’s military through Napoleon's Grande Armée; and into the First World War.

After the Fall of France he joined the Free French forces and went to London. Charles de Gaulle promoted him from Captain to Major. He was sent to French Equatorial Africa as Governor of French Cameroon from late August 1940 to mid-November 1940. He distinguished himself in other African campaigns of the War. From the D-Day landings Leclerc’s Second Armored Division freed Paris. After the war he served in Indochina.

The area around Pont Maréchal Leclerc along the River Loire is positively lovely. There are two small islands (see photos 3, 4 & 5) within the river, overgrown and charming. Walk along the riverbank; relax; have a picnic. The area is easily accessible and parking in some lots nearby is free.

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“Learning never exhausts the mind”
— Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)

In the basement at Clos-Lucé are six rooms displaying machine models based on Leonardo’s drawings. A total of 40 models, those in the basement and those on the grounds, were designed by da Vinci and produced by IBM using 16th century materials, are classified under five headings corresponding to topics of interest to the Master: military engineering, town planning, mechanics, flying machines and hydraulics. Da Vinci drew up plans for a military tank, several variations of a drawbridge, a submarine, a helicopter, a parachute, and much more.

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“Time stays long enough for anyone who will use it.”
— Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)

There is a sweet little garden at the manor house’s rear; tables and chairs are set up within the garden for taking lunch from a concession stand nearby.

During the reign of Louis XI, Hugues d’Amboise (1080-1128) built this manor house in pink brick, between 1107 and 1115, upon the foundations of a Gallo-Roman building. In 1115 he rebuilt and fortified the castle of Amboise by the river and at the same time he built the bridge over the Loire. Hughes was one of Europe’s first nobles to fight to free the Holy Land in 1096; he died in 1128 after making a second trip to Jerusalem.

The king seized the estate and then gave by to his favorite, Etienne le Loup, a cook’s assistant whom he raised to the peerage. At the time the estate was called Manoir du Cloux, and was surrounded by fortifications. Within the park, Etienne Le Loup had a dovecote built, which is still intact, and which could house 500 pigeons.

When Charles VIII bought the property on 2.July.1490 by, Clos-Lucé became a royal estate. It remained as such for two centuries. While the Royal Court resided at Château d’Amboise in the Loire Valley, the Manoir du Cloux was used as a secondary residence. Charles VIII had the chapel built here for his Queen, Anne de Bretagne, who was in perpetual mourning for her children who died young.

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“No being disappears into the void.”
— Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)

GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN The above bit of wisdom was the last thing that da Vinci wrote; he then asked for the Holy Sacrament; and then he died on 2.May.1519, aged 67 in his bedroom at Clos-Lucé.

In 1515, da Vinci was called to Bologna and to design a centerpiece for the peace negotiations between François I and Pope Leo X. This is where he first met the 21-year old king.

In 1516, on the advice of his sister Marguerite, François extended an invitation to Leonardo to come to the French court. At Amboise he was given the 12th century manor house Clos-Lucé, not far from Château d’Amboise. The artist brought with him three of his paintings, the Mona Lisa, St. Anne, and St. John the Baptist, which he completed here.

Leonardo was appointed “first painter, engineer and architect of the King.” The king granted him a pension of 700 golden ecus a year to work. However, his primary duty was to talk with François, who visited him regularly. Da Vinci was treated with real affection by the king, who called him “my father.”