Photo Gallery / 01a: Château de La Roche-Racan, France - 10-08-2002.

 

The Château de la Roche-Racan stands perched on a rock (la roche) overlooking the Escotais Valley which, together with the nearby Loir, was a constant source of inspiration to the first owner and poet, Racan. Born at Champmarin near Aubigné, Honorat de Bueil, Marquis de Racan (1589-1670), was a member of the well-known local family, the Bueils. Not really cut out for the life of a soldier and following a number of unlucky love affairs, Racan retired to his country seat for the last 40 years of his life, a period described in his work, 'Stances à la Retraite'. There he was quite content to stroll by his fountains or hunt game or visit Denis de la Grelière, the Abbé of la Clarté-Dieu, who invited him to put the Psalms into verse. He brought up his children, pursued his lawsuits, grew beans and rebuilt his château. In 1634 Racan commissioned a local master mason, Jacques Gabriel, a member of a long-established family of architects, to build this château. The main building was originally flanked by two pavilions, only one of which remains standing, pedimented and adorned with a corner turret and caryatids. Long balustered terraces, above arcades decorated with masks, overlook the park and Escotais Valley.