Church of St. Florentin (Eglise Saint-Florentin) description and photos - France: Amboise (Topic)

Church of St. Florentin (Eglise Saint-Florentin) description and photos - France: Amboise. Detailed information about the attraction. Description, photographs and a map showing the nearest significant objects. The title in English is Eglise Saint-Florentin.

Photo and description

The Church of Saint Florentin, which is located on the banks of the Loire, is another landmark of Amboise associated with the name of the famous city dweller - artist, inventor and scientist Leonardo da Vinci.

Leonardo da Vinci died in May 1519 at his Chateau-du-Clos-Luce and bequeathed to be buried in the Church of St. Florentine, where rich and noble citizens and government officials were also buried. The will of the genius was carried out, but his remains rest in the chapel of Saint-Hubert, located near the castle of Amboise. At the same time, doubts about whether the bones of a genius really lie under a marble slab have not yet been completely dispelled.

The church was built in the 15th century and was intended only for King Louis XI and his family members. At that time epidemics raged in Amboise, and the king, as best he could, tried to protect himself and his neighbors from infection. In the second half of the 16th century, Amboise became the center of a conspiracy, because of which armed clashes began in the country, called the Huguenot Wars, and lasted more than thirty years. During these wars, the Church of St. Florentine was looted, the graves inside it were desecrated, and the building itself was badly damaged. At the beginning of the 19th century, Napoleon presented the castle of Amboise, badly battered by the revolution, to the third consul of France, Roger Ducos. He, in turn, ordered to demolish the dilapidated building of the church, and use the stones for the restoration of the castle.

Only in the second half of the 19th century, excavations were carried out on the site of the Church of St. Florentin, and the ashes, which were presumably identified as remains Leonardo da Vinci, was buried in the chapel of Saint-Hubert.

The Church of St. Florentine was reconstructed in the middle of the 20th century and acquired the status of a historical monument. Her style is characterized as Gothic, her interior features a hall with arches and stained glass windows.

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Topic: Church of St. Florentin (Eglise Saint-Florentin) description and photos - France: Amboise.