Photo : Patrick Lenoir / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)
Château du Fou
Yvon du Fou, Governor of Poitou and captain to Louis XI, came from a noble Breton family. As a reward, the king arranged his marriage to Anne Mourraut, only daughter of the Mayor of Poitiers and heiress to the lordship of L'Armenteresse (or La Menteresse). Around 1470 he asked the king for the right to rebuild a stronghold, which took his family name, Fou. François I met Charles V here in 1539. The castle, in the Vienne, stands on high ground between the Vienne and the Clain, for defensive reasons.
In the 17th century it belonged to the Appelvoisin de la Roche du Maine family. Charles Tiercelin d'Appelvoisin de la Roche du Maine already owned the Château de Chitré but preferred to leave it for Le Fou. The family owned the castle until the Revolution, the last of the line being guillotined in 1793. In 1853 it was sold to the Count de Campagne. Now partly rebuilt, it is a private home where a descendant of the Count de Campagne lives.
