Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The Château de Villaumaire, located in Huismes en Indre-et-Loire, finds its origins on Gallo-Roman foundations, as evidenced by its name derived from the Latin Villa Majoris ("main farm"). The first written traces suggest that between the 5th and 6th centuries it would have housed the Merovingian governors of the Veron district. In the 10th century, the estate was ceded by King Charles the Simple to the chapter of the Church of Tours, then confirmed in 1157 by Louis VII. Archbishop Jean de la Faye even installed an ecclesiastical magistrate named "Mayor" in the 13th century, making the castle a religious possession for nearly five centuries.

The transition to private property began in 1448, when Martin Péquineau, master of Charles VII's royal artillery, became his lord through his marriage. The castle remained in his family until 1648, during which time Rabelais mentioned him in his writings, associating his lord with episodes of Gargantua and placing there the home of the poet Raminagrobis. In 1648, Maurice d'Aubéry, son of a minister of Henry IV and Louis XIII, acquired the estate, which then passed through alliances between noble families (Gault de la Galmandière, Levesque des Varannes) until the 19th century.

Major architectural changes took place in the 19th and 20th centuries: the southern facade became the main one with the addition of towers and a portal, while the western wing was remodeled to integrate pavilions. In 1923, the Princess of La Tremoille, widow of the Duke of Estrées, modernized the interiors by replacing the troubadours with 17th and 18th styles. After decades of abandonment, the castle was saved in 1959 by the Vitali family, which launched in 2019 a participatory restoration campaign to preserve this heritage marked by the religious, military and literary history of the Touraine.

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