9. Tours to Azay-le-Rideau

Die Kirche Saint-Gervais und Saint-Protais stammt aus dem 12. Jahrhundert, sie ist bemerkenswert für ihre architektonische Einheit im Zisterzienserstil und ihr Portal im Saintongeais-Stil.
1138 schenkte Hugues, Erzbischof von Tours, die Kirche der Abtei von Toussaint d'Angers.
Der ursprüngliche Grundriss des Gebäudes bestand aus einem Kirchenschiff und einem nördlichen Seitenschiff, dessen dritter Erker von einem anjianischen Gewölbe mit Rippen und Lilienen bedeckt ist.
Das Seitenportal ist von Poitevin inspiriert und hat drei Archivolten, die mit Akanthusblättern, Dämonen und fantastischen Tieren, Chimären und Greifen verziert sind. Es wurde 2006 restauriert.
Informationstafel am Chevet der Kirche.

Throughout the Middle Ages and until the beginning of the 17th century, the domain of Villandry was called Coulombiers or Colombiers and was none other than the seat of a châtellenie under the authority of the castle of Tours.
Living around 1080, Geoffroy le Roux, also lord of Cravant-les-Côteaux, was the first lord of Colombiers.
The fortified castle of Villandry was modified for the first time after the Hundred Years' War in a new search for comfort and healthy living. In particular, fireplaces were installed in most rooms and most of the walls were pierced with numerous mullioned windows. This artistic revival marked by the development of luxury and pomp was not only the result of the influence of the patronage of the Dukes of Burgundy and Duke Jean de Berry.
All that remains of the medieval building today are the foundations and the 12th century keep, modified in the 14th century, which can still be guessed, enclosed in one of the wings of the main courtyard.
The last of the great castles that were built on the banks of the Loire in the 16th century, the current castle of Villandry, brings a final touch to the research at the beginning of the Renaissance while announcing the achievements of the castles of Ancy-le-Franc and Écouen.
More info at: Wikipedia
To visit the castle

The church of Villandry is dedicated to Saint Stephen, the first martyr. The first chapel known as Saint Roch dates back to the 5th century (it was destroyed around 1844). It is built halfway up the hillside, is located more than 300 m from the castle and is far from the alluvial plain of the Cher, without any risk of flooding. By its physiognomy, it finds its counterpart with the parish church of Cormery.
A rectangular chapel measuring 9m by 18m was built in the 11th century. At the end of the 12th century, the transept and the choir were added. The original chapel then became the nave of the new church.

When you arrive on the square in front of the Saint-Symphorien church in Azay-le-Rideau, you immediately notice the originality of the double gable. The one on the right, Romanesque, is very different from the one on the left, more recent, with a basket-handle portico.
The oldest mention of the building dates back to the 11th century charter by which Geoffroy de l'Île donated it to Cormery Abbey. This donation concerns a small church which is written as abandoned. Archaeologists date certain decorative elements of the old gable from the Carolingian Renaissance period.
The main nave, to the south, is from the 11th century; however the pointed arches and the vaults with ridges are from the 12th century. The side nave from the bell tower to the apse dates from the same period. Mural frescoes were highlighted in 1997 in the choir, which was originally fully decorated.
In the 16th century two bays completed the side nave to lead it to a new gabled façade adjoining the old "basket-handle" façade and a vast bay in the flamboyant style.
The side chapel -chapel of the chateau- was built in 1603. This chapel is located at the back of the church to the right of the last bay before the choir.

Text source: information document available in the church from the Dictionnaire géographique, historique et biographique d’Indre-et-Loire par J.-X. Carré de Busserolles, Tours, 1878 et Souvenirs du temps passé de Georges Jéhan, Tours, 1928