Da Vinci’s French chateau and its digital exhibit is a Time must-see

Leonardo da Vinci’s former home in the Loire Valley has been listed among Time Magazine’s 100 Greatest Places of 2021.

Time made special reference to a new exhibit presented in new galleries that opened at the Château du Clos Lucé in Amboise (Indre-et-Loire) in June and features 17 digital art works.

Among them are pieces from museums and galleries all over the world, which visitors can now appreciate in more detail, projected onto the walls for an immersive experience.

Francis I of France paid for Tuscan-born Da Vinci to live at Clos Lucé after making him 'Premier Painter and Engineer and Architect to the King' in 1516.

This arrangement allowed the king to keep his favourite artist close by, with the royal residence Château d’Amboise connected to Château du Clos Lucé by an underground passage.

Da Vinci spent the last three years of his life at Clos Lucé, where he worked on various projects for the king and hosted visitors, including fellow artists.

As well as being able to visit some of the rooms where Da Vinci lived and worked, the Clos Lucé attraction also offers visitors an opportunity to explore the grounds of the chateau.

The Leonardo da Vinci Park is designed like an open-air museum and features life-sized models of Da Vinci inventions.

Other places in France that made the American magazine’s annual list of 100 places in the world to visit were Cannes with its new Underwater Edo-Museum, as well as the Bourse de Commerce - Pinault Collection, which opened in Paris in May.

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