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 Villandry18. Château de La Côte, Reugny1920. Royal Abbey of Fontevraud, the Grand Moûtier and the Chapter House21. Le Rivau, stables of the château, Lémeré
Sainte-Chapelle, Champigny-sur-Veude
The old château, its outbuildings and chapel were born according to the wishes of Louis I, Duke of Bourbon. Construction began following his return from a military campaign in Italy alongside King Charles VIII. The only parts remaining from the château razed by Cardinal Richelieu are the outbuildings and the "Jupiter pavilion", which were converted into living quarters in the 19th century.
Founding a collegiate church (1498) near a château was a traditional gesture for feudal lords. Yet the Bourbons were the descendants of St. Louis, the founder of the Sainte-Chapelle in Paris. This building was designed to house the relics of the Passion of Christ, which the canonised king had acquired in Jerusalem. His heirs founded several "Saintes-Chapelles" (meaning holy chapels) in France, placing a fragment of these precious objects in each. Founding Champigny was thus one of the most prestigious construction projects in the Loire Valley.
The architecture of the chapel, a true shrine, is in the late Gothic style with a Latin cross layout and the addition of extensions. The apse is surrounded by the sacristy, chapter house and private chapels. These chapels are accessible via exterior vaulted corridors, a special feature. The main entrance is preceded by a porch reminiscent of a triumphal arch. The interior is supported by a system of columns and pilasters, where the walls disappear between tall glass windows. These stained-glass windows, constructed in the 1540s, have been attributed to the Pinaigrier family, master glaziers from the Touraine. The three registers of representations depict (from bottom to top) famous members of the Bourbon-Montpensier family, the life of St. Louis and the Passion of the Christ. The numerous niches bear witness to a once rich sculptured décor, now gone. The nave was once divided by a wooden rood screen with stalls arranged in a U-shape.
Construction of the building began around 1520, to be consecrated in 1543 and the monumental porch added between 1549 and 1558. The tombs of the founders and many family members have since been demolished; elements of the remaining funerary monuments date back to the 17th century.
St. Louis is one of France's patron saints. The abundance of references used by his descendants demonstrates their very complex relationship, very close to the monarchy. In founding such a construction, its sponsor wanted to affirm the importance and rank of the Bourbon family. The sculptured ornamentation and stained-glass windows reflect rich symbolism, establishing a parallel between the holy ancestor and Christ, while highlighting the role of the Bourbons in the country's history. It is evident that it was modelled on a building such as Paris's Sainte-Chapelle. However the décor adorning this building testifies to its part in the Renaissance movement. The central focus of the stained-glass windows and the complexity of the decorative elements attest to a thorough knowledge of Italianate architecture. The porch, with its direct references to Italian models, is a rare example of late Renaissance architecture in the Touraine. The architecture and painted elements of the Sainte-Chapelle, and of the Jupiter pavilion, are thus an example of civil and religious architecture bringing together elements of both early and late Renaissance in the Loire Valley.
