Altervista-castellinelmondo-300X250
Altervista-castellinelmondo-728X90


Islette Castle (France)

Loire     See list of castles in Francia

Two kilometers west of Azay-le-Rideau, one enters the Islette by a portal dated 1638, confined to two square pavilions.
The castle is on the left bank of the Indre, a bridge crosses the main branch, and on the left the old mill displays the water. It was probably the origin of a banal mill where everyone had to come to grind his wheat for a fee to the lord.
The castle
A long rectangular three-storey main building, flanked by two imposing towers, the chateau by its architectural design and its location among the waters recalls that of Azay-le-Rideau.
Traditionally, the Azay workers have built the Islet
It was completed around 1530.
There is the same double body of moldings between two floors, windows with mullions of the same proportions decorated with a volute in the center of the lintel, the same crowning by a path of round on machicolations.
The resemblance was even more striking before the beginning of the nineteenth century the moats were filled, the gables of the dormers trimmed and the truncated towers, giving the building its present appearance.
The main entrance door, the old drawbridge with its grooves, is surmounted by a finely carved cartouche with the coat of arms of Barjot de Roncée, which is supported by charming Renaissance angels.
On the ground floor of the eastern tower, the chapel with its ribs, completely restored, reveals murals and a vault with stars.
Once past the guard room, a large stone-staircase leads to the first, "the noble floor."
The castle, inhabited by its current owners, is therefore arranged in place of life.
The big room
On the first floor, the Grande Salle (14 m long by 8 m wide) offers a remarkable pictorial decoration from the beginning of the 17th century.
It covers the entire ceiling, the plinths where are represented bouquets of elegant flowers and bucolic landscapes, and the monumental fireplace.
The top of the walls is adorned with a frieze representing the alliances of the Mille and the Carman, announced near the fireplace by the following inscription:
"Here are the alliances of the lords of Carman since Francis Leo, the younger of the Comte de Leon, married Beatrix, heiress of the house of Carman, under the charge of taking the name and arms of the said house, Lord of Leon, his brother, the seigniory of here erected in county. "

Images of the castle

Altervista-castellinelmondo-300X250

Castles in France

Montleveque Castle

Hauts-de-France

Palace of Versailles

Île-de-France

Fontainebleau Castle

Île-de-France

Château de La Roche Courbon

Nouvelle-Aquitaine

Commarque Castle

Nouvelle-Aquitaine

Useful infos

Latitude: 47.2675445
Longitude: 0.4361922
See the map
See the images

Map of Islette Castle