The Château du Lude is one of the many great châteaux of the Loire Valley in France. Le Lude is the most northerly château of the Loire Valley and one of the last important historic castles in France, still inhabited by the same family for the last 260 years. The château is testimony to four centuries of French architecture, as a stronghold transformed into an elegant house during the Renaissance and the 18th century. The monument is located in the valley of Le Loir. Its gardens have evolved throughout the centuries. It is a harmonious combination of French design and an English-style landscape, with a rose garden, topiaries, a labyrinth and a botanical walk.
The original fortress was built between the 10th and 11th centuries on the banks of the river Loir in order to defend Anjou from the incursions of the Normans and then the English during the Hundred Years War.
Louis XI's chamberlain, Jehan de Daillon, took possession of the Lude estates at the end of the 15th century. He employed Italian artists to convert the fortress into a residence.
In 1751, Le Lude became the property of Joseph Duvelaër, head of the Council of The French East India Company. His niece, the Marquise de la Vieuville, built the classical wing in the style of Louis XVI and defended the château during the French Revolution. Her descendants, the Talhouët-Roy, carried out extensive works of restoration throughout the 19th century. Le Lude has been passed down to the current occupants Count and Countess Louis-Jean de Nicolaÿ, who have carried on its tradition of restoration and decoration.
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.