\b0 On the left bank of the Loire, the small town of Amboise is dominated by one of the finest castles
in Touraine. Built on a high terrace that supports its massive walls, it has two enormous round towers framing the \i Logis du roi\i0 built by Charles VII at the end of the fifteenth century. On the upper floors are located the \i Salle des Etats\i0 a
nd the \i Salle des gardes\i0 , opening onto a gallery with arches. The castle also contains the chapel of Saint-Hubert with the tomb of Leonardo da Vinci, who died at the nearby manor house of Clos-LucΘ in 1519 while a guest of King\b \cf4 \ATXht464 \ATXul1024 Francis I\b0 \ATXul0 \cf0 \ATXht0 . This was the place where the Italian Renaissance really began to exert an influence on France. Establishing a bridgehead at Amboise in 1495, it moved on to \b \ATXul1024 \cf4 \ATXht219 Blois\ATXul0 \b0 \cf0 \ATXht0 twenty years later and from there spread along the ôItalian Loireö as far as Paris and the furthest reaches of the kingdom.\par
