Les jardins du Château d’Amboise, états successifs des usages du monument by Jean-Louis SUREAU – Château de Bénouville

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Les jardins du Château d’Amboise, états successifs des usages du monument by Jean-Louis SUREAU – Château de Bénouville

The gardens of the Chateau d’Amboise, successive states of the monument’s use

Just like a beautiful history book, the Château d’Amboise comprises several chapters, each narrated in turn, each either terrible or joyful. In this property that has survived the centuries, time has left its mark in many ways and visitors are invited to discover its vestiges. Whereas architecture offers them ease of interpretation, it is powerfully supported by garden art as if to prove that if this land of the Châteaux de la Loire is also referred to as the Garden of France, it is legitimately so. In Amboise, the link between the monument itself and its immediate environment, the gardens, or its distant environment, the landscape, appears to have been forged in a quest for balance. Since the late 15th century, the site has known many a trial and tribulation for the function afforded to the château has been drastically modified several times. The presentation of the successive states of the gardens is particularly insightful and it facilitates understanding of the site’s current requalification. This cultural and functional approach offers a further insight into the history of Amboise and is a pleasant way to apprehend this heritage site.

Jean-Louis Sureau

Jean-Louis Sureau was born in 1958 in Châteaudun. He spent his childhood in a farm typical of the Beauce region and boasting a large vegetable garden. After studying public law, he joined the Indre-et-Loire Council as the Council President’s cabinet manager from 1984 to 1987. He then worked as director of Historic Monuments and of the Touraine Tourist Board from 1987 to 1994. He is general secretary of the Fondation Saint-Louis and director of the Château d’Amboise since 1994. In 2005, he obtained a DESS (Postgraduate Specialised Study Diploma) in “Historic gardens, heritage and landscape) at the National School of Architecture in Versailles. Thanks to his passion for gardens, he has created several public and private parks.