1. Amboise, town2. Château Gaillard, Amboise3. Tours, town4. 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 Villandry1819. Sainte-Chapelle, Champigny-sur-Veude20. Royal Abbey of Fontevraud, the Grand Moûtier and the Chapter House21. Le Rivau, stables of the château, Lémeré
Château de La Côte, Reugny
The commune of Reugny is located north-east of Tours, on the banks of the Brenne River. The Château de La Côte, formerly "La Couste", both meaning hill, stands on the hillside overlooking this river. In the 1490s this modest manor house belonged to the La Rue family, officers from the Touraine region. Jean de La Rue was a gentleman of the King's Chamber under Charles VIII. His son, Marc, brother-in-law to Jean Le Breton lord of Villandry and Villesavin, became Treasurer under King Francis I, then Maître des requêtes (master of requests) in the Chambre des comptes (chamber of accounts), Mayor of Tours in 1535 and finally Royal Secretary, serving until 1548. Mention was made of him as one of the nobles imprisoned with the king after the defeat against imperial troops at the Battle of Pavia in 1525.
The estate is mentioned in documents from 1480, but the building must have been altered between 1530 and 1535 by Marc de La Rue. This small limestone castle consists of two main buildings set at right angles. A round tower stands on the corner, while the wings culminate in more solid, rectangular towers. The two-storey complex is crowned by a high roof pierced by elegant dormers. Ornamentation around the windows and two small "Italian-style" shrines adorn the main façade. This façade reflects the search for order and symmetry, which were highly valued at a time when the Renaissance was captivating France. The only decorative element of the façade facing the gardens is a dormer. Little effort was made to harmonise it. In the interior, a spiral staircase, painted beams and sculptures demonstrate the quality of the site.
The complex is completed by a dovecote, a small vaulted oratory and a chapel built up against the hillside. The chapel was built around 1560 and was decorated with a stained-glass window of the Crucifixion, dating back to the 16th century. The restoration work managed to retain the original style of the building quite well.
The owner had the grounds above the château landscaped into a terraced garden.
Marc de La Rue was undoubtedly a modest lord, yet close to court and its courtiers. Like many of his contemporaries, owning a country estate confirmed his status as a feudal lord, or seigneur. In fact building his small stronghold near Tours, the town of kings, was a declaration that he was a member of the aristocracy. Alongside his duties working for the Crown he also dedicated time to the town as mayor.
It was also a testament to his taste and receptiveness in accepting the new style. The transformation of the hillsides around the château into terraces was not only a Renaissance undertaking, but one that was particularly innovative, as this sort of adaptation to the environmental situation was rare in the Loire Valley. The access to the gardens, in addition to being "fashionable" at the time, may have resulted from the connection between the owner and Jean Le Breton, who commissioned the gardens of Villandry.
