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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Château d'Ancy-le-Franc, built between 1538 and 1546 for Antoine III de Clermont (1498-1578), the brother-in-law of Diane de Poitiers, marks an architectural turning point in France. Designed by the Italian Sebastiano Serlio, it embodies the Second Renaissance (1540-1564) with its modular quadrangular plan, symmetrical facades adorned with ancient orders, and its rejection of medieval defensive elements. Serlio merges the Italian heritage (inspired by Bramante and Raphaël) and local traditions, such as the steep roofs in Burgundy slate, creating a "French architecture in Italian costume" according to Madame de Sévigné.

Inside, the decorations painted by Primatice, Nicolò dell-Abbate and Flemish artists (such as Bartholomeus Spranger) take up the motifs of Fontainebleau: arabesques, mythological medallions, and antique scenes (Pharsale gallery, chamber of Caesars). The castle, left unfinished at the death of Antoine III in 1578, was completed by his grandson Charles-Henri, who welcomed Henry IV (1591), Louis XIII (1631) and Louis XIV (1674). Subsequent modifications (windows added, decorated door) partially alter the original harmony of the facades, including the play of full and empty designed by Serlio.

Acquired in 1683 by François-Michel Le Tellier de Louvois, minister of Louis XIV, the estate is transformed into a "Burgundy Versailles". Louvois built communes in U by Jules Hardouin-Mansart or Robert de Cotte, and entrusted André Le Nôtre with the layout of a French garden, with embroidered beds, basins and perspectivist alleys. In the 18th century, the Marquis de Courtanvaux, heir to Louvois, replaced part of the gardens with an English park (1759), preserving only the central perspective. The Revolution spared the castle, but the ditches were filled in 1836 and the interior decorations restored in the 19th century by the Clermont-Tonnerre, descendants of the first owners.

Ranked a Historic Monument in 1983 (confirmed in 2003), the castle passed in 1999 under the management of the company Paris Invest SAS, which undertakes a major restoration. The works, supported by the DRAC Burgundy and INP, aim to restore its radiance to the mural paintings, the gardens (west and restored since 2016) and the communes. The 50-hectare park, combining Renaissance heritage, classic and romantic, bears witness to the changes in taste over the centuries, while the interiors preserve masterpieces such as the gallery of Pharsale or the bedroom of Diane.

The castle also illustrates the history of the noble families that are succeeded: the Clermont-Tonnerre (XVI-XIXth centuries), the Louvois (XVII-XVIIIth), and the Merode (XXth century). Family archives, such as those used by Elizabeth de Gramont (1875-1954) for her genealogical research, reveal her role as a place of memory and power. Today, Ancy-le-Franc remains a unique example of Renaissance modular architecture, where the influence of Serlio and Fontainebleau School dialogue with the landscape transformations of Le Nôtre and English gardeners.

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