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FRANCE 63
Grand Galerie > Q
Chenonceau's •Paris h
GERMANY
Florentine-s1yle
Gran de Ga I erie
stretches across CHATEAU DE
the C her River for
200ft (60 m) BAY O:HENONCEA~RANCE ~
Bl SCA Y • Bordeaux
Marseille•
MEDITERRANEAN
SPAIN SEA
THE FORMAL GARDENS
As the mistress of Henri II, Diane de Poi tiers
wanted a surrounding fit for a king and set
about creating her grand, formal gardens
along the banks of the C her River. Divided into
four triangles and protected from flooding by
elevated stone terraces, they were planted with
an extensive selection of flowers, vegetables,
and fruit trees. When Catherine de' Medici
arrived at Chenonceau, she created her own
garden from a program devised by Bernard
Palissy in his Drawings of a Delectable Garden
( 1 563) Today, more than 4, 000 flowers are
planted in the gardens each year.
THE CREAn ON OF CHENONCEAU
Cabinet Vert> Catherine Bri<;onnet, wife of the royal chamber-
The walls of Catherine lain, was the first of many women who added
de' Medici's study were her feminine touches to Chenonceau. During
originally covered with
~ Grande Galerie green velvet. his reign ( 1547-59), King Henri gave the castle
Catherine de' Medici added to his mistress, Diane de Poitiers, who went on
this elegant gallery to the bridge to dramatically transform it. She redecorated its
designed by Philibert de I 'Or me
in 1556-9 for Diane de Poi tiers. interiors, built a bridge over the C her River and
constructed a formal garden. When the king
died, his wife, Catherine de' Medici, reclaimed
CHATEAU CHENONCEAU GUIDE the chateau from Diane and set about erasing
The main I ivi ng a ~a was in the turreted her presence. She redesigned the castle and
pavilion in the middle of the Cher built the Grande Galerie on the bridge above
River. Four principal rooms open off
the Vestibule on the ground floor: ~ the C her. Over the centuries, other women
the salle des G ardes and the have shaped Chenonceau's destiny and design,
Cha mb ~ de Diane de Poi tiers, 5 6 including Louise de Lorraine, who was be-
both hung with 16th-century l k;=:;:==!l queathed the castle in 1589, the enlightened
tapestries; the Chambre de Fran~ois I, 4
with a Van Loo painting; and the Louise Dupin, friend of the writers Voltaire and
Sa I on Louis XIV. Lavish rooms Rousseau, in the 18th century, and Madame
on the first floor include the Pelouze in the 19th century.
Cha mb ~ de Catherine de' Medici
and the Chamb~ de Vendome.
Ground floor THE INTERIOR
KEY The elegant Gran de G aleri e, designed by
1 ~stibule
Catherine de' Medici to hold her festivities,
2 Salle des Gardes
3 Chapelle dominates Chenonceau. Lit by 18 windows
4 Terrasse stretching from an exposed-joists ceiling, its
5 Librairie de Catherine de' Medici
6 Cabinet ~rt enamelled tiled floor leads into royal bedrooms,
7 Chambre de Diane de Poitiers Tapes tries A including Diane de Poiti ers', covered in Flemish
8 Grande Galerie
As was the practice in the tapestries. The small tiles in the first floor
9 Chambre de Fran~ois I 1 6th century, Chen onceau
1 0 Salon Louis XIV hall are stamped with fleur de lys crossed by a
is hung with Flemish
11 Chambre des Cinq Reines dagger. Marble medallions brought from Italy
tapestries that both warm
12 Cabinet des Estampes by Catherine de' Medid hang above the doors,
and decorate its well-
13 Chambre de catherine de' Medici
14 Chambre de ~ndome furnished rooms. including those of her bedroom, which is full
15 Chambre de Gabrielle d'Estrees First floor of 16th-century furnishings and tapestries
depicting biblical scenes.
