Domaine of Villarceaux, Renaissance villa and historical monument in Chaussy, France
The Domaine of Villarceaux in Chaussy holds two châteaux within a 70-hectare walled park. The lower site is a 13th-century manor house beside a rectangular water basin, its pale stone wings and steep grey roofs reflected in the water. The upper château, built 1755–1759, stands on the plateau edge above formal gardens.
The site began as a fortified castle from the 11th century built during medieval conflicts. In the 16th century it was transformed into a Renaissance-style manor house.
The marquis de Villarceaux, Louis de Mornay, painted a full-length nude portrait of Françoise d'Aubigné, the future Madame de Maintenon, without her posing; it hangs in the dining room of the 18th-century château. The house keeps a collection of 18th-century French furniture, and the estate is used for concerts and cultural events.
The 70-hectare walled park holds two châteaux: the lower manor in the valley and the Louis XV château on the plateau above. Paths link the basins, the Renaissance garden and the vertugadin; the wooded slopes and ponds are steep in places. The site is managed by the Île-de-France regional council, which reopened it to the public after restoration begun in 1989.
The gardens hold a rare 18th-century ornamental feature called a vertugadin, shaped after the hoop skirts of the period and surrounded by statues brought from Italy. The park also keeps vestiges of medieval fortifications, and its ponds and canals are fed by 32 recorded springs.
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