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Château de Louvois was originally built in the 13th century, but underwent substantial renovation following its acquisition by the young Marquis de Louvois. He entirely rebuilt the property, replacing the medieval chateau with a grand and gracious residence boasting some of the finest gardens to be seen anywhere in 17th century France. Behind the chateau, a succession of parterre gardens extended all the way to a U-shaped retaining wall against the hillside. A ramp on either side of the gardens led to a terrace featuring a 60-foot wide pool with decorative water spouts.
From there a grand degré (monumental staircase) led to a long, wide, central avenue that ran through woodlands, and to a large, upper pool that served as a reservoir for the lower terrace pool, the pools in each of the four flanking bosquets and also the water tower. The reservoir itself was supplied with water that had to be channelled three kilometres from the springs of Vertuelles and the Fontaine Fraîche.
The property was sold in 1776 to Louis XV’s daughters, Adélaïde and Sophie then destroyed (except for the foundations) at the time of the French Revolution. It was rebuilt in the 19th Century, complete with wrought iron entrance gates widely considered to be among the finest examples of traditional locksmithing.In more recent times (2012-2013), luxury Champagne House Laurent Perrier commissioned students of the Ecole Nationale Supérieure d’Architecture in Versailles to examine correspondence by the Marquis de Louvois together with plans stored in the archives of the Swedish National Museum in Stockholm. Their findings show that André Le Nôtre was the creative genius behind the terraced vertugadin (turfed greensward), with its playful visual effects on the views from and towards the chateau.
References:The ancient Argos Theater was built in 320 BC. and is located in Argos, Greece against Larissa Hill. Nearby from this site is Agora, Roman Odeon, and the Baths of Argos. The theater is one of the largest architectural developments in Greece and was renovated in ca 120 AD.
The Hellenistic theater at Argos is cut into the hillside of the Larisa, with 90 steps up a steep incline, forming a narrow rectilinear cavea. Among the largest theaters in Greece, it held about 20,000 spectators and is divided by two landings into three horizontal sections. Staircases further divide the cavea into four cunei, corresponding to the tribes of Argos A high wall was erected to prevent unauthorized access into the theatron and may have helped the acoustics, but it is said the sound quality is still very good today.
Around 120 CE, both theaters were renovated in the Roman style.