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Origin and history

The passage of the Navre Heart is a narrow alley covered with Tours, less than 50 meters long, probably dating from the 15th and 16th centuries. It connects Rue Colbert, former major medieval artery, to Place Foire-le-Roi, a place of fairs since 1355 and especially from 1545. This passage, formerly dependent on the fief of the abbey of Saint-Julien, has an elbow at right angles and retains the facades characteristic of these centuries.

His name would come from a sign representing a heart pierced by an arrow, hanging on one of the houses bordering the alley. An unverified tradition also evokes its use by convicts going to the scaffold on the Place Foire-le-Roi. The vaults and facades of adjacent houses (except those of numbers 64 and 66 rue Colbert) have been protected as historical monuments since 1946.

This passage is part of a network of streets covered by the Old Towers, remains of medieval urbanism. Other similar examples include Rue du Cheval Blanc or Petite rue Simon, although many disappeared in the 20th century during urban modernization. These narrow routes illustrate the dense organisation of medieval neighbourhoods, where covered passages served as protected links between public and private spaces.

The buildings bordering the passage, with their 15th and 16th century facades, bear witness to the civil architecture of the period. Their preservation offers an overview of construction techniques and urban lifestyle in Touraine during the Renaissance. The 1946 protection underscores their heritage value in a city centre marked by successive transformations.

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