Photo : Gzen92 Edited by User:Radomianin / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Palais de Fontainebleau
The Château de Fontainebleau, in Seine-et-Marne, is mentioned as early as 1137 under Louis VII. Originally a simple hunting lodge, it became one of the great royal residences of France. Under Francis I, who reigned from 1515 to 1547, a Renaissance residence was raised on the site of the medieval castle. Italian artists worked there, and Vasari spoke of a "new Rome". The School of Fontainebleau, an artistic movement, was born from this building project.
The palace mixes medieval, Renaissance and classical styles, fruits of centuries of royal occupation, and bears witness to the meeting of Italian art and French tradition. Napoleon I refurnished it after the Revolution and held his court there. It was in the courtyard now called the Cour des Adieux that he addressed his Guard on 20 April 1814, before leaving for exile.
The castle and its park have been UNESCO World Heritage since 1981. Now a national museum, it presents furniture, paintings, sculptures and works of art dating from the sixth to the nineteenth century.
