Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The castle of Talcy, located in the Loir-et-Cher, finds its origins in the 13th century as a medieval seigneury. Purchased in 1517 by Florentine banker Bernard Salviati, close to François I, it was rebuilt from 1520 in a Renaissance style. Salviati obtained royal permission to add defensive elements (cranels, mâchicoulis), more symbolic than functional, to assert his status. The 15th century Porch Tower and the gallery inspired by the 16th century Château de Blois illustrate this transition between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.

In 1638, Isabelle Salviati, great-granddaughter of Bernard, extended the east wing. The 18th century saw an interior renovation led by the Burgeat family, then the estate moved to the Stapfer, Swiss Protestants allied with the Burgeat. Philipp Albert Stapfer, Minister of the Swiss Republic, even set up a Protestant place of worship, still visible. The castle passes through the Revolution without damage, thanks to its acquisition by Elizabeth Gastebois. In the 19th century, Albert Stapfer (1802–92), a translator of Faust and pioneer of daguerreotypia, lived there and preserved a prestigious library, partially dispersed in the 20th century.

Ranked a Historic Monument in 1908, the castle was sold to the state in 1933. His gardens, redeveloped in 1996 as a conservatory of fruit species, received the label "Remarkable Garden". The estate also includes a 15th century dovecote (1,400 bolts) and a mill rebuilt in 1976. The dome well of the court of honour and the arched gallery in basket cove remain emblems of the place.

The castle is linked to literary figures: Pierre de Ronsard met there in 1545 Cassandre Salviati, muse of his Loves and the poem Mignonne, let's see if the rose. In 1562 he welcomed Catherine de Medici and Charles IX for the Talcy Conference, the final attempt at reconciliation between Catholics and Protestants. The Protestant Theodore Agrippa d'Aubigné found refuge there in 1572, inspired by Diane Salviati. During the Franco-German war of 1870, General Chanzy briefly established his headquarters there.

Since 2004–2005, the protections have extended to the station, the walls, and the aisles. The castle, managed by the Centre des Monuments Nationaux, still houses collections of the Stapfer, including portraits and ministerial uniforms of Philipp Albert. A telefilm, The King, the squirrel and the snake, was shot there in 2009.

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