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Château du Clos Lucé, Amboise, France

47° 24′ 36″ N, 0° 59′ 29″ E

The Final Home of Leonardo da Vinci

Southwest of Paris, the fertile Loire Valley was home to the kings of France and their associated nobility throughout the Renaissance. The valley contains hundreds of châteaux, many of which are open to the public, built by kings and noblemen starting in the 10th century. In one of these châteaux, Leonardo da Vinci lived and worked for the last three years of his life.

He came to the Château du Clos Lucé in 1516 at the invitation of King François I. The King lent da Vinci the château and gave him a pension on which to live. Today, the château has been restored to its Renaissance state and contains a museum of da Vinci’s inventions.

It also contains da Vinci’s bedroom (where he lived and died) and his work room. There’s even an underground passage that is said to lead to the King’s nearby château and was used by King François I when visiting.

When da Vinci arrived in France, he brought with him three precious paintings: The Virgin and Child with St. Anne, St. John the Baptist, and the Mona Lisa. All three are now in the Louvre in Paris. While at Clos Lucé, da Vinci continued painting, illustrating, and inventing, and worked on architectural projects for the King and irrigation systems between the Loire and Saône rivers.

Today, the gardens of the château contain transparent reproductions of many of da Vinci’s greatest paintings and sketches, including the Vitruvian Man, depicting a naked man inside a circle and square, his legs and arms outstretched into two different positions showing the proportions of the body.

Also in the gardens is a landscaped area designed to bring to life da Vinci’s botanical drawings, his study of geological features, and his knowledge of water. The garden contains a double-decked wooden bridge invented by da Vinci.

English-speaking visitors can take an audio tour, and the château guide book is available in English.

Practical Information

Full information about the château is available in English at http://www.vinci-closluce.com. A helpful guide to visiting the Loire Valley is available at http://www.loirevalleytourism.com/. A great way to visit the Loire region is by biking along the “La Loire à Vélo” path that follows the river, passing by many châteaux, including the Château du Clos Lucé.

da Vinci’s 40 Inventions

Château de Clos Luce is much more than just da Vinci’s former home: it houses a collection of 40 reproductions of his inventions, including machine guns, a tank, a cannon with adjustable firing angle, the first car, a design for a helicopter, a flying machine, a parachute, a glider, paddle boats, a swing bridge, and the double-hulled boat.

The exhibitions of his inventions are split between the château itself, where small models are on display, a separate hall containing an audiovisual presentation of da Vinci’s life and work, and the garden.

Of particular interest in the château is da Vinci’s clockwork car. The car (which looks more like a wheelbarrow) is powered by a pair of large springs. The hall contains a full-sized model, with a 12-meter wing span, of da Vinci’s flying machine.

The gardens contain large models that the visitor can interact with. These include da Vinci’s design for a helicopter (Figure 10-1), paddle boats, a water wheel, and a tank. There’s even a model of his pyramidal parachute.

Figure 10-1. da Vinci’s helicopter; courtesy of Betsy Devine