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Origin and history

Châtigny Castle, located in Fondettes (Indre-et-Loire), is built in 1487 on the foundations of a Gallo-Roman villa of the third century, whose remains (mosaic, hypocauste, swimming pool) attest to an exceptional luxury. These ruins, discovered in 1890 by Charles de Beaumont, include imported marbles (Pyrenees, Asia) and polychrome decorations, suggesting a site linked to the Roman Way Tours-Saumur. The estate, mentioned in the ninth century under the name Catiniacus, belonged to the territory of Turones.

The building of the castle in the 15th century is part of a medieval fief dependent on the seigneury of Maillé-Martigny. Designed as a defensive fortress, it dominates the north coast of the Loire, near the fortress of Luynes. Its first owners included mayors of Tours, such as Jacques de Beaune in 1516. The building, marked by a rare checker (stone/brick) apparatus in Touraine, combines two wings in return of square flanked by round towers and a crenellated courtine.

Abandoned in the 18th century, the castle was saved in 1855 by the Duke of Ulceda, who transformed defensive openings into windows and added neo-Gothic commons. During World War II, it housed a rest home. Ranked a Historic Monument in 2006, the site opens its Gallo-Roman ruins, park and surroundings 40 days a year. The mosaics and architectural elements are preserved at the archaeological museum of Touraine.

The architecture combines medieval heritage (disappeared bridge-levis, thick walls) and modifications of the 19th and 20th centuries. The west court, demolished after the 18th century, gave way to landscaped gardens. The interior facades, redesigned in flamboyant neo-Gothic style, contrast with the ancient remains, including an octagonal basin and mosaic floors. The park, extended to the north and east, frames the remains and the castle, today private property.

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