"There has been a castle on site here for almost 1000 years though the current version dates to the early 1500s when then proprietor Jean Le Breton, finance secretary to the King built a chateau around the foundations of the 12 th century keep where King Henry II of England signed a treaty in July 1189 ceding English-held land in the Loire to the French King Philip II."
"Joachim and Ann, both scientists, fell head over heels for Villandry and gave up their plans to build a laboratory, choosing instead to devote their energy to restoring the neglected building and gardens (which by then had become a forest which was threatening to devour the building), to their original glory. Over the centuries new owners had made many changes, the Carvallos were determined to see the chateau return to its regal renaissance elegance."
Villandry lies in Touraine at the heart of the Loire Valley and features a renaissance-style chateau and formal gardens. A castle has occupied the site for nearly a millennium; the present chateau dates to the early 1500s when Jean Le Breton built it around a 12th-century keep. King Henry II signed a treaty there in July 1189 ceding English-held Loire lands to Philip II; Henry II died two days later at Chinon and Richard the Lionheart succeeded. The estate passed through neglect under Jérôme Bonaparte and later owners altered the gardens to an English style. In 1906 Joachim Carvallo and Ann Coleman purchased and restored the chateau and its gardens to their former grandeur.
Read at The Good Life France
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