At the beginning of our trip we spent time in Florence, where Da Vinci went to school and spent his early years painting. We saw what is thought to be his first painting, The Annunciation, as well as the Adoration of the Magi and The Baptism of Christ in the Uffizi. We also read children's books and watched documentaries about Da Vinci, so we found Le Close especially interesting.
Da Vinci spent the last three years of his life at Le Close Luce. The King of France, Francois I, became enamored by the great Renaissance art during his wars with Italy and invited Da Vinci to live in Amboise. The king asked nothing in return other than the privilege to listen to the great master artist and inventor. The Manor house was close to the Royal Castle and, in fact, had a secret under ground passage way linking the two together so that the king could easily join Da Vinci for conversation. It was here that the Mona Lisa was completed. Da Vinci strapped the painting to the back of a donkey, which carried it over the Pyrenees mountains and eventually to Amboise. The kids found this particularly interesting.
We began our tour of the house and soon entered a room packed with dignitaries. I nudged the kids and suggested that they scoot through the crowds so that we could continue on with our self guided tour. Suddenly a distinguished looking man with a booming voice asked that Emilie join him in front of the group. He switched his language from French to English and explained that girls Emilie's age would be married during the Renaissance. The group began taking photos of the man with Emilie. He then pulled Sophia and Annelise to the front and used them as examples as well, this time in French. More flashes went off. A woman next to me whispered that they were very lucky. We weren't sure why, but it was clear that the groups was excited about this man. When he was done talking, he handed me his camera and asked that I take a photo of him with my children. Later we learned that he was the owner of the house and was French Royalty. The kids thought that this was pretty exciting.
We finished the tour, visiting rooms such as Leonardo's bedroom, his entertaining area and the kitchen with a huge fireplace where he especially enjoyed sitting.
The highlight of the day was spending time with models of Da Vinci's inventions.
There were miniature sized models in the basement, but what was most exciting were the life sized examples in the gardens with which the children could experiment. The kids ran from cannons that shot out smoke and tanks for warfare to water systems and helicopters.
Most of his inventions never materialized, but what was interesting was the logic behind the ideas. If only there had been such things as engines or certain materials, many of his inventions would have become a reality. The kids were excited to find, and experiment with, the models of Da Vinci's inventions that were in the children's book and movies that they had watched. I am sure after this excursion, none of us will forget Da Vinci and his contributions to our world. This stop exceeded all of our expectations.
3 comments:
What a cool experience - to have your photo taken with French royalty. I'm sure that was a lot of fun for your kids. Da Vinci's house looks like a place we're going to have to visit.
What good teaching you have done! The children knew what they were seeing, at Amboise, because you had previously taught them about Leonardo da Vinci and they had already seen his paintings in the Uffizi. They had also learned about French royalty, so they could appreciate meeting a man who had that heritage. Bravo, Camille!
That looks like so much fun... You pick the most creative places to visit with your kids!
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