1. Amboise, town2. Château Gaillard, Amboise34. Royal Château of Amboise5. Royal Château of Blois6. Château de Chenonceau7. Château de Nitray, Athée-sur-Cher8. Château d’Azay-le-Rideau9. Château de Chambord10. St. Anne's Collegiate Church, château, Ussé11. St. John the Baptist Collegiate Church, Montrésor12. Jehan de Seigné Chapel, Bléré13. Town hall, Beaugency14. Château de Villesavin, Tour-en-Sologne15. Château de l’Islette, Cheillé – Azay-le-Rideau16. Loches, town17. Château de Villandry18. Château de La Côte, Reugny19. Sainte-Chapelle, Champigny-sur-Veude20. Royal Abbey of Fontevraud, the Grand Moûtier and the Chapter House21. Le Rivau, stables of the château, Lémeré
Tours, town
Tours, royal capital from the middle of the 15th century, experienced a major period of development between 1450 and 1525. River transport on the Loire provided merchants with thriving international business. Relations with Italy increased trade, and alongside spices and exotic fabrics, works of art started to appear in the Touraine region. Like their Italian counterparts, wealthy merchants developed financial services, and came to finance the Royal Court. Some were attracted by power, fighting alongside their kings in Italy, and were rewarded with titles.
The most powerful families in the Touraine, who had either merchant or sometimes legal backgrounds, were the Bohiers, the Beaune-Semblançays, the Berthelots, the Briçonnets and the Babou-Bourdaisières. Their business bound them to the town, where they built their houses. They became powerful, often performing the duties of mayor and contributing to the "modernisation" or enhancement of the town. Jacques de Beaune-Semblançay and Thomas Bohier, for example, funded sanitation projects.
Some buildings from this period are still standing. The Hôtel Gouïn (before 1510; 25, rue du Commerce), the house of Jean Juste, an Italian sculptor (17, rue Paul-Louis Courrier), the Hôtel de Babou-de la Bourdaisiaire (circa 1520; 8, place Foire-le-Roi), and that of Beaune-Semblançay (circa 1515; place de Beaune-Semblançay), with its chapel and Renaissance fountain (1511; one of the first public drinking fountains in the town) are all examples of Italianate trends in art styles of the great aristocracy. The cloisters of the Basilica of St. Martin (1508-1519), like many religious buildings in Tours were the work of locals Bastien and Martin Francis, and feature bas-reliefs with human figure and plant motifs. The staircase of the La Psalette cloisters (before 1524) appears to mimic that of Blois, built during the reign of Francis I. St. Symphorien's church portal (1526-1531) the balcony of the Archbishop's palace (1522) and the Cathedral towers (north, from 1507; south, 1534-1546) show the same artistic trends.
Throughout the reigns of successive kings, many courtiers, diplomats and artists from north and south came to Tours. Trade in goods and artistic exchanges led to the town's transformation. During the first decades of the 16th century, this artistic hub experienced a turning point between Franco-Flemish and Italianate traditions, i.e. the end of the medieval period and beginning of the modern era. The previously mentioned families from Tours modelled themselves on wealthy Italian families and actively contributed to this turning point.
Powerful prominent citizens had a town house and a château in the countryside. The situation was comparable to that of Italian villas and towns. But while in Italy the villa was an expression of a certain quality of life and a desire to be close to nature, in France the château remained a symbol of feudal power for a long time. The town's position was particularly unique because it was both a business centre and the periphery of royal power. Tours was thus both the catalyst for a change in lifestyles, while reaping the benefits of this development.
