By:Billy Millward and Shaun Johnson Chateau De Villandry By:Billy Millward and Shaun Johnson

Location The Château de Villandry is a castle located in Villandry, in the département of Indre-et-Loire, France.

History Villandry was completed around 1536 and was the last of the large chateaus built in the Loire Valley during the Renaissance. The lands where an ancient fortress once stood were known as Colombier until the 17th century. Villandry was built by Jean le Breton, one of Francis I’s Finance Ministers. Villandry stayed in le Breton family until 1754 and then became the property of the Marquis de Castellane.

History Marquis built the Classical style outbuildings that you can see on either side of the front courtyard. He redesigned the interior of the chateau to meet the standards of comfort of the 18th century which are much closer to those we know today than to those, which were applied during the Renaissance. The traditional gardens were destroyed in the 19th century to create an English-style park around the chateau.

19th Century In 1906 the chateau was bought by Dr Joachim Carvallo, who was born in Spain in 1869, and who is the great-grandfather of the present owners. He saved the chateau which was about to be destroyed and created the presentday gardens which are in complete harmony with the Renaissance architecture of the chateau.

Visiting the Villandry 2012 Gardens 1/01/12 to 12/12/12 open Chateau 1/01/12 to 12/12/12 open Visit http://www.chateauvillandry.fr/ for a virtural tour