The Château du Bois de Sanzay is located in Saint-Martin-de-Sanzay, between Thouars and Saumur. According to documents of the Saint Laon de Thouars abbey, in 1487 the land was bought from the clergy by François de Beaumont, chevalier Seigneur du Boys de Sanzay. The central building was built in the 15th century, and additions were made in the 18th century.
Built using large blocks of tufa stone for some parts and rubble for other parts, the main building has high chimneys, three monumental gothic fireplaces, an échauguette, a chapel, and cellars. The domain also comprises a dovecote, a French formal garden, and a pond.
References:The Villa d'Este is a 16th-century villa in Tivoli, near Rome, famous for its terraced hillside Italian Renaissance garden and especially for its profusion of fountains: the extraordinary system contains fifty-one fountains and nymphaeums, 398 spouts, 364 water jets, 64 waterfalls, and 220 basins, fed by 875 meters of canals, channels and cascades, and all working entirely by the force of gravity, without pumps. It is now an Italian state museum, and is listed as a UNESCO world heritage site.
Tivoli had been a popular summer residence since ancient Roman times due to its altitude, cooler temperatures and its proximity to the Villa Hadriana, the summer residence of the Emperor Hadrian I.
The Villa was commissioned by Cardinal Ippolito II d'Este (1509-1572), second son of Alfonso I d'Este, the Duke of Ferrara and grandson of Pope Alexander VI, along with Lucrezia Borgia.