In 1516, King Francis I of France (the builder of Chateau Chambord) persuaded Leonardo da Vinci, arguably the most accomplished man in history, to move from Italy to Ambroise, France, where Francis had his main castle.

LEONARDO DA VINCI IN AMBOISE


The Chateau Royal d’Amboise hangs over the city.

It has some impressive rooms,

and a bit of humor.


One of the towers has a ramp big enough that horses can ride up to the upper level.


Below is the town, and the castle dominates.

We had dinner there. My escargot was beautiful, but the dessert was heavenly.


Leonardo is one of the most famous painters in history (think the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper). He was an innovative sculptor of bronze, an accomplished architect and engineer, and an inventor without equal. King Francis put Leo up in a mansion and gave him a big salary for the time to be able to talk to him daily. We visited Chateau du Clos Luce, where Leo lived his last three years.


Interestingly, Leo came to France carrying the Mona Lisa. He always took her wherever he went. There is a tremendous amount of analysis of Mona. It is the most famous artwork in the world because Leo said it was his most excellent work. (Some experts show evidence that Mona Lisa is a painting honoring the sacred Female. Others claim it is a self-portrait of Leonardo in drag.) Leonardo gave the Mona Lisa to King Francis on Leo’s death, which became the beginning of the royal art collection that has become the French art collection held in the Louvre.


Leonardo da Vinci invented scuba gear, breach loading canon, a parachute, a helicopter, the personal flying machine, the car, a bicycle, a tank, a pump to lift water powered by a stream, an assault ladder, and military bridges still used today, a printing press, a scattergun, a machine gun, a swivel suspension bridge, ball bearings, ways to turn water wheel energy into usable force, and hundreds of other things. The materials available in 1500 did not allow most of these things to be built. Some were first constructed as late as the 1800s and 1900s. People have created models of Leo’s inventions based on his plans and some full life-size at du Clos and many other places. Here are a few we saw there. For war, canon,


a machine gun,

a tank,

and an assault ladder.

This ingenious water pump is a hollow screw. Flowing water turns the screw, which raises water inside the screw, to the next level.

This bicycle and car work.

He made a working parachute. His helicopter may have been slightly underpowered,


but his man-powered airplane was not far from early attempts at planes hundreds of years later.


When Leonardo died in 1519, he was buried at Amboise. War destroyed his original burial place, but he is now buried at the Chapel Royal d’Amboise.

At night, Chateau Royal d’ Amboise still has magic.



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