Coming from one of the most powerful families in the kingdom, Anne de Montmorency was brought up at the Château d'Amboise with the future King François I, to whom he is very close. His military qualities are widely demonstrated (Marignan, Ravenna, Novara), and he becomes Marshal of France. He was taken prisoner by Charles Quint in Pavia with King Francis I. Released, he became constable of France (chief of the armies) thus strengthening his power. Being a supporter of peace, he disagrees with Francis I. Under the reign of Henri II, he formed a Catholic triumvirate with the Duke of Guise and Saint-André. He participated in various military campaigns (defeat of Saint-Quentin in 1557) before being killed by a gunshot to the back in Saint-Denis. A great aesthete and protector of the arts, Montmorency had the Château de Chantilly renovated and the Château d'Ecouen built. He is a great patron and actor of the French Renaissance
Among the Loire castles , Blois is probably one of the most original. Indeed, his singular story allows us to discover three distinct architectural styles:Flamboyant Gothic, Renaissance and Classical. The castle is also famous for its remarkable Grand Staircase, built in the middle of the François I