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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Château de l'Islette, built around 1530 by René de Maillé († 1531), Baron de Touraine, embodies the Renaissance architecture of the Loire castles. Located on the left bank of Indre, on the border between Azay-le-Rideau and Cheillé, it was built by the same workers as Azay-le-Rideau, whose stylistic features it takes up: the body of rectangular houses flanked by two cylindrical towers, the round road on mâchicoulis, and the sledging windows decorated with volutes. The estate, initially surrounded by filled moats in the 19th century, formed an island ("Islette"), hence its name. A brick and stone wing, vestige of a 15th century seigneurial home, remains in return for square, integrated into the Renaissance construction.

The chapel of the castle, located in the East Tower, reveals murals and a starry vault in lapis-lazuli dating from the late sixteenth or early seventeenth century. The "Grande Salle", the centrepiece of the first floor, has a ceiling and plinths decorated with bucolic landscapes and bouquets, as well as a monumental fireplace topped by a crown of marquis. A painted genealogical frieze traces the alliances of the Maillé and Barjot families of Roncé, successive owners. In the 19th century, Jean-Baptiste Dupuy, an ambitious owner, profoundly altered the building: he truncated the pointed roofs of the towers, removed the rubble of the skylights, combed the moats and applied his invented coat of arms on the chimney, marking his passage.

The castle was a place of creation for Auguste Rodin and Camille Claudel, who stayed there in the summers of 1890, 1891 and 1892. Claudel sculpted Les Causeuses (1896) and several busts by Marguerite Boyer, granddaughter of the owner, immortalized under the title La Petite Châtelaine. Sold as a national property after the Revolution, the castle changed hands several times before being classified as a historical monument in 1946 for its interior decoration. Today, the private property of the Michaud family, it opens its doors from May to September, offering visitors an English-style park designed around 1830, centuries-old plane aisles, and canoe rides on Indre.

The history of the estate is inseparable from its aristocratic owners. The family of Maillé, a great tourist nobility, owned it from 1350 to 1650. Charles II de Maillé († 1628), Marquis de Carman, and his wife Charlotte d'Escoubleau de Sourdis, lady of honour of Catherine de Medici, illustrate this lineage. By alliances, the castle passed to the Tiercelin of Appelvoisin and to the Barjot of Roncé: Marie-Anne Tiercelin of Appelvoisin, granddaughter of Charles II of Maillé, married in 1706 his cousin Alexis-Charles Barjot of Roncé (1667–1708), whose arms still adorn the entrance gate (1638). The Revolution marked a tragic turning point with the execution of Charles Gabriel Tiercelin of Appelvoisin, deputy guillotine in 1793–94.

The 14-hectare park, on horseback on Azay-le-Rideau and Cheillé, combines nature and history. An 18th century sundial, decorated with an 8-shaped analemma and zodiac signs, sits near the entrance. The mill, located in the east, recalls the medieval origin of the fief, perhaps a common mill. 19th-century amenities, such as the English park or the architectural modifications of Dupuy, reflect the romantic tastes of the era. Today, the estate houses a farm, animals (asses, sheep, gelines de Touraine), and spaces dedicated to visitors, perpetuating its role as a place of life and memory.

Future

The castle is inhabited by its present owners and therefore converted into a place of life. That's what makes him so alive and appealing to discover!
It was opened to the public in 2010. The visit, with the love of Camille Claudel and Rodin, plunges you into the softness of the Touraine.

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