Fairytale castles of France
September 29, 2002 | 12:00am
As a child, I was always fascinated by the castles I read about in books or saw on television and movies. What I thought I would only chance upon in dreams and fairy tales recently came alive.
An invitation by my dear friend Reesa Guerrero, who is currently studying German at the University of Vienna in Austria, turned out to be an enchanting sojourn.
From Manila, I had a most comfortable 15-hour flight on Lufthansa Airlines to Vienna via Frankfurt. We took the high-speed train to Paris then continued southwest to the Loire Valley, renowned for its extraordinary chateaux preserved in all their glory. The words loire and chateau are almost synonymous, meaning part-fortress, palace and mansion.
We visited castles ranging from the majestic Chambord and Amblois, where Leonardo da Vinci spent precious years of his life, to scenic Chenonceau and Usse. We hopped aboard a hot-air balloon for an aerial perspective and got a splendid view of Orleans, an ancient Roman city and capital of the region whose place in history was secured by a simple French peasant girl, Joan of Arc, in 1429.
We went on a walking tour through the Chambord, the first of France’s great classical palaces. Reesa enthused that there are over 300 castles in the Loire Valley that have been transformed into cultural and historical museums or hotels for tourists and locals. The Chambord is the largest of these castles and was built in 1519 by Francois I. He only used the castle for short stays, yet when he arrived, would you believe 12,000 horses were required to transport his luggage, servants and entourage?
As we feasted on our lunch of provolone cheese, duck liver pate in french baguette and Perrier citron, Reesa and I felt we were transported back in time to the era of Charlemagne, Merlin and Guinevere! In this medieval ambiance, summer concerts, festivals and fairs are held. Dramatic spectacles take place after dark with shows featuring casts of people in period costume and horses– all floodlit and backed by music.
From the 15th to 18th century, the fabled Loire Valley served as the playground of kings, princes, dukes and nobles who expended family fortunes and the wealth of the nation to turn it into a vast neighborhood of lavish structures. These medieval fortresses had massive walls topped with battlements, fortified keeps, arrow slits and moats spanned by drawbridges. The Chambord stands in a vast park enclosed by a 32-kilometer wall. At the age of 25, Francois I realized his dream by having this magnificent palace built in the middle of an estate populated by stags and wild boars. Chambord is an architectural masterpiece combining the tradition of French master masons with the lightness of Italian Renaissance buildings. Attributed to the great Leonardo da Vinci, the enormous, double-helix staircase looks like a single staircase, but an entire regiment could march up one spiral while the second came down the other, and they would never meet.
Bristling with numerous chimneys, turrets and dormer windows which seem to lift it up to the sky, Chambord was completed by Louis XIV in 1685 and recalls the wondrous tales of chivalry. Today, this estate is the largest enclosed forest park in Europe and is still home to abundant wild fauna. This sumptuous meeting place for hunting was also the setting for royal celebrations. This tradition is kept alive today by the enchanting performances like the splendid equestrian show we watched, which described the three cycles of the story of the horse king, King Louis XV, and the Count of Chambord. Period costume and music added gaiety and rich color as the flamboyant riders and talented horses showed off their skills. The horses were trained so well, they were made to stand on two feet, bow in front of the crowd and even leap over a ring of fire.
From Chambord, we proceeded by bus to nearby Amboise, which is lined by narrow medieval streets and bustling markets where shopping is delightful. The famous Chateau d’ Amboise stands on a flattened hill that was originally a Stone Age settlement. Amboise reached its peak around the 1500s when the luxury loving King Charles VIII enlarged it and King Francois I held raucous parties here.
These days, the town makes the most of its association with Leonardo da Vinci who came to Amboise in 1516 until his death three years later at the age of 67. Leonardo lived and worked in Le Clos Luce, a brick manor house which contained restored rooms and scale models of his inventions, including models of the machines he designed and made up by IBM using period materials. One can admire here the first airplane, first warfare tank, swivelling bridge, the parachute, a proto-automobile, armored tank, hydraulic turbine and reproductions of 80 of Leonardo’s original drawings. It’s a fascinating place with a lovely garden, watchtower and Renaissance music.
In 1536, Jean Le Breton who had been France’s ambassador to Italy rebuilt the Chateau de Villandry. The new building had ditches and canals, an esplanade and a terrace, rectangular pavilions in place of round towers and above all, it has the finest gardens in the Loire Valley, reconstituted according to their original, rigorous, geometric design with zigzagging hedges around flower beds, vegetable plots and gravel walks. Its Ornamental Garden comprises intricate, geometrically pruned hedges and flowerbeds loaded with romantic symbolism. Covering a total of 17 acres, the gardens have three terraces one above the other. The most astounding are the patterns of the varieties of love such as tragic (sword and dagger blades), fickle (butterflies and fans), tender (masks and hearts), and passionate (broken hearts).
To the Princess of France, the Blois was the most important of the Loire castles. Originally defended by a medieval castle, the town was transformed from 1503 onwards when the kings moved here from Amboise, bringing in their train all the trades devoted to satisfying the royal taste for luxury. This massive chateau spans several architectural periods and is among the valley’s finest. I stood at the courtyard in awe as I admired four centuries of architecture. The medieval remains include the round towers, spiral staircases and steep pitched roofs. Many rooms have intricate ceilings, carved paneling and royal portraits.
With its façade decorated with busts and its moats and tall observation towers, the Cheverny Castle is a symbol of the power and wealth of a family of great importance in legal circles. One of the last in the area to be built, this castle with its elegantly proportioned classical façade with manicured lawns was finished in 1634. Its interiors are dotted with splendid furniture and tapestries and a bronze of George Washington beside a document that bears his signature. In its orangery was hidden the Mona Lisa and other masterpieces during World War II. In the trophy room, one can view the 2000 stags hunted down centuries ago.
The Chateau Chenonceau, Chinon, Loches, Saumur, Usse, Langeais, Azay-Le-Rideau, Talcy, Angers, Chaumont, Montsoreau and hundreds more each have their stories of love and war. No matter what tale they tell, castles are timeless reflections of eternity. A visit to these castles is a magical experience to cherish for a lifetime.
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