Editing Clos Lucé (section)

=== The castle today ===
[[File:F - Schloss Clos Lucé 003b.jpg|thumb|Overview, 2016]]
The castle is set in the heart of a 7-hectares park, crossed by the ''Amasse'', a tributary of the Loire. The facade of the house is made with pink bricks and white stones and has remained almost unaltered since the [[Renaissance]] in which an old rampart walkway still remains. Within the castle, remain the rooms of [[Leonardo da Vinci]], [[Anne of Brittany]] and [[Marguerite de Navarre|Marguerite of Navarre]], including the oratory and council rooms. The first floor bedrooms were restored in 2011 with period details and artifacts. There is a restaurant on site.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Restauration on site - The Clos Lucé |url=http://www.vinci-closluce.com/en/information/restaurants}}</ref>

According to the [[Smithsonian]], restoration over the years was extensive:<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/explore-frances-loire-valley-in-footsteps-of-leonardo-da-vinci-180971039/#M52IhqPB5tXvxtZo.99|title = Explore France's Loire Valley in the Footsteps of Leonardo da Vinci}}</ref> <blockquote>"the mansion has been restored to the way it appeared during Leonardo's stay there, including his bedroom, his basement studio, the original frescoes on the walls and the high stone hearth in the kitchen".</blockquote>

In the basement, there are 40 models that [[IBM]] made from Leonardo's sketches and drawings, including a helicopter,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.alafrancaise.fr/en/loire-valley/chateau-clos-luce|title = Chateau du Clos Lucé tour &#124; A la Francaise Loire Valley}}</ref> as well as some 3D animations about the Italian master's inventions, allowing the public to see them working. In the park is a [[Dovecote|pigeon house]] from the middle of 15th century built by Etienne le Loup, Amboise [[beadle]] that can shelter up to a thousand birds. In 2003, Jean Saint-Bris set up an educational and cultural course in the park of the Clos Lucé with several sound terminals and impressive machines inspired from Leonardo's mind. The open-air museum in the garden, with its forty translucent canvasses, houses full-size models of some Da Vinci inventions, including a chariot, a multi-barrelled gun, an aerial screw and a revolving bridge.<ref name="auto"/>

During 2019, the 500th anniversary of his death, Amboise held many events celebrating Da Vinci's life, some at Clos Lucé.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.amboise-valdeloire.co.uk/destination-amboise/leonardo-da-vinci/amboise-celebrates-da-vincis-500th-anniversary/ |access-date=2019-12-02 |title=Archived copy |archive-date=2020-07-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200703194055/https://www.amboise-valdeloire.co.uk/destination-amboise/leonardo-da-vinci/amboise-celebrates-da-vincis-500th-anniversary// |url-status=dead }}</ref> The number of visitors to the chateau in 2019 was estimated as 500,000, a 30% increase over the typical annual number. Da Vinci is special to the French, according to François Saint Bris. "He lived a long time in France and he died here ... And 'La Joconde' [Mona Lisa] is in France. So ... for us, he's a little French."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.npr.org/2019/11/29/782568048/500-years-after-leonardo-da-vincis-death-france-celebrates-his-life-and-work |title=500 Years After Leonardo Da Vinci's Death, France Celebrates His Life And Work |date=29 November 2019 |publisher=NPR |access-date=2 December 2019 }}</ref>