Château de Villandry: Overall view, into courtyard of central block

French château and garden in the département of Indre-et-Loire, 17 km south-west of Tours. The chateau is one of the last great Renaissance houses to be built on the Loire, and as such displays a Classical elegance reflecting Italian influence. It possesses features which are unusual in Touraine, such as rectangular pavilions (in place of the former round towers) in addition to the layout of the esplanade and its moat. Acquired in the early 1500’s by Jean Le Breton, France’s Controller-General for War under King Francois I, a new château was constructed around the original 14th-century keep.