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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

Marcilly-sur-Maulne Castle, classified as Historic Monument in 1944, is a remarkable example of French architecture from the early seventeenth century, although its construction dates back to the second half of the sixteenth century. Located between courtyard and garden, it presents a geometrical plan centered on a majestic pavilion housing chapel and staircase, inspired by the models of Jacques Androuet du Cerceau. Its winning pavilions and stables with pink marble feeders testify to its past prestige, notably under Napoleon III.

The estate was originally owned by Guy II de Laval-Loué in 1467, before being acquired in 1608 by Charles Fouquet, treasurer of France at Tours. The latter, from an influential tourangelle family, married his daughter Françoise to Gilles II de Lusignan, seigneur of Azay-le-Rideau, transmitting Marcilly by alliance until 1970. The Marquise de La Rochebousseau, nicknamed "la Diablesse" for its flamboyant character, marked the history of the place under Louis XV.

The park, organized in terraces overlooking the Maulne valley, preserves remains of the old French-style gardens, including a fountain feeding cascade basins. Dolmens attest to an ancient occupation of the site, while the chestnut and two isolated turrets recall the primitive castle. The communes, dating back to the 15th and 16th centuries, still house painted decorations and original structures.

The interior of the castle has preserved exposed beams ceilings, murals (fruit baskets, horns of abundance) and tapestries of the seventeenth-XVIII centuries. The chapel, decorated with religious woodwork, crowns the second floor of the central body. Although the east terrace and the gardens disappeared in the 19th century, the whole remains an intact testimony of the art of living aristocratic in Touraine.

Today private property, the castle opens to the public in the summer and during Heritage Days. Its chestnut, transformed into a dwelling, can accommodate guests, thus perpetuating a tradition of centuries-old hospitality.

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