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| Aging Leonardo da Vinci - 64 |
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| Cloux Castle, Amboise, France |
Leonardo da Vinci passed away on May 2, 1519 in Cloux Castle, Amboise., France. Cloux Castle was the summerhouse of the Queen Mother of King Francis I. It was called the castle of Light, because of the wonderful light let in by its great number of windows.
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| Leonardo's bedroom window- where he lived and died. |
Leonardo resided there with the king's young widowed sister, Margurite de Navarone, who adored the aging artist. Margurite and her friends loved to entertain and engaged the services of Leonardo to design court activities.
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| Side View of Cloux Castle |
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| Roof top of Cloux Castle |
King Francis I provided Leonardo with a pension of 7,000 gold scudi per year and pensions for some of his entourage.
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| Back of Cloux Castle - Leonardo's bedroom- Sitting room to right. |
On April 23, 1519, Leonardo dictated his last will and testament to M. Baptista de Vilanis. He bequeathed all monies and the remainder of his pension to Francesco Melzi, a Milanese gentleman, who helped take care of him the last 9 years of his life. He made Francesco the executor of his will and the director of his lavish funeral.
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| Side of Cloux Castle |
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| Balcony where the king and his entourage watched the pageants. |
Leonardo was to be buried within the church of Saint Florentine after three high masses there and thirty low masses at St. Gregorie Church and in St. Denis Church. There were also thirty low masses at the church of the said friars and lesser brethren. His body was to be borne by thirty chaplains of the church.
He left directions for his body to be followed by the rector and the prior or by their victors and the chaplains of the Church of Saint Denis of Amboise and lesser the friars. He desired that sixty poor men, who would be paid for carrying them, should carry sixty lighted tapers. The purpose of the lighted procession to the burial sight, was so that God could see the way to come for his soul.
Although Leonardo was supposedly buried in the Church of St. Florentine, in Amboise, France, the church was destroyed during the French Revolution. His remains are believed to have been later transported to the Chapel of St. Hubert in the Castle of Amboise, Amboise, France. This is the chapel of King Francis I, which is near Cloux Castle where Leonardo lived.
The long bones were identified as those of a tall man, but not definitely identified as those of Leonardo. Plans are in progress to have the body exhumed and tested for DNA. At his time that has not been authorized by the French Government.
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| The rose garden that Leonardo could view from his window |
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The rose garden - summer of 2010.
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Some of these photos were taken at different times, when I visited Cloux Castle. The first time being 1983. In this photo, you can see the book store, which has been enlarged. Since Dan Brown came out with the Da Vinci Code there has been an increase of visitors. They have also embellished the rose garden and the surrounding area. Thanks to Dan Brown for creating a global interest! Too bad he doesn't know the REAL DA VINCI CODE, which gave clues to the real secret of MONA LISA!
I just opened 8 websites concerning the death of Leonardo...each one had questions...who is MONA LISA!!!! The answers is simple to find!!! Just read my books, THE CHARADE OF MONA LISA VOL I AND II. They are available by contacting me on my website...
237willow@prodigy.net Tell me where to mail them...They are $20. each....and then you won't have to wonder any more!
I broke the code on Leonardo's pictographs, in 1983 and discovered the secret of Mona Lisa! It is so bizarre that you could not have imagined it in 500 years...and that is how long it has been since he painted it!!! Sharron Connelly
