Editing Loire Valley (section)

==Culture==
[[File:Chateau Valencay 20050726.jpg|thumb|[[Château de Valençay]]]]
On December 2, 2000, UNESCO added the central part of the river valley, between [[Chalonnes-sur-Loire]] and [[Sully-sur-Loire]], to its list of World Heritage Sites. In choosing this area that includes the French ''[[departments of France|départements]]'' of [[Loiret]], [[Loir-et-Cher]], [[Indre-et-Loire]], and [[Maine-et-Loire]], the committee said that the Loire Valley is: "an exceptional cultural landscape, of great beauty, {{sic|comprised |hide=y|of}} historic cities and villages,  great architectural monuments - the ''châteaux'' - and lands that have been cultivated and shaped by centuries of interaction between local populations and their physical environment, in particular the Loire itself."<ref name=W/>

The [[Loire Valley chansonniers]] are a related group of [[chansonnier|songbooks]] attributed to the composers of the Loire Valley and are the earliest surviving examples of a new genre which offered a combination of words, music, and illuminations.<ref name="bookdepository.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.bookdepository.com/book/9780195381528/Songs-Scribes-and-Society|title=Short Description for Songs, Scribes, and Society|work=bookdepository.com|access-date=11 April 2011}}</ref>

A new Contemporary Art offer is developing all along the Loire River from [[Montsoreau]] to Orléans with such places as [[Château de Montsoreau|Château de Montsoreau-Contemporary Art Museum]], CCCOD Tours, the [[Château de Chaumont|Domaine Régional de Chaumont sur Loire]] and the [[FRAC Centre|Frac Centre Orléans]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.artnet.com/market/art-language-philippe-meaille-french-chateau-310458|title=Largest Art & Language Collection Finds Home - artnet News|date=2015-06-23|work=artnet News|access-date=2018-02-12|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=MACBA banks on History|url=http://www.artinamericamagazine.com/news-features/news/macba-opening/|publisher=Artinamericamagazine.com|date=2011}}</ref><ref name="macba a&l">{{cite web |title=Art & Language Uncompleted|url=http://www.macba.cat/en/exhibition-art-language-uncompleted/1/exhibitions/expo|publisher=macba.cat|date=2014}}</ref> They are a rare association of [[Renaissance architecture]] with [[contemporary art]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Travels in Europe|url=http://www.elmundo.es/viajes/europa/2017/06/12/58d8ded2468aebfe7b8b463b.html|newspaper=El Mundo|date=2017}}</ref>