The Renaissance

The kings’ campaigns in Italy brought the Renaissance to France. In the Loire valley châteaux were built with Italian details under French roofs.

Francis I built Chambord from 1519, with a double spiral staircase at its centre and a roof crowded with chimneys and lanterns. Leonardo da Vinci spent his last years at Amboise, and it has been suggested that he inspired the staircase.

In Paris the Louvre was rebuilt from 1546 by Pierre Lescot, and Philibert de l’Orme and Jean Bullant wrote books that made the Renaissance French.

• Château de Chambord