Castelo di Breszes – Wikipedia

The Brézé Castellu It is a castle dating back to the 16th century that stands on the French municipality of the same name, in the Department of Maine and Loire, ten kilometers south of Saumur.

Under this castle and in the ditches there are underground caves, occupied over time for civil and military uses. The castle was classified historical monument on March 6, 1979. ^[first]

The lands on which the castle was erected belonged to the gentlemen of Brézé since the 11th century. Of these gentlemen, who made numerous donations to the Abbey of Fontevraud, nearby, we remember Luigi di Brézé, who married Diana di Poitiers.

In 1448 Gilles de Maillé Brézé obtained the authorization from King Renato d’Angato to fortify the castle and had the ditches dig, also obtaining underground galleries which, through open slits on the moat, contributed to the defense of the building. ^[2]

The castle and the Italian Renaissance style addictions were erected in the early sixteenth century on the will of Arthur De Maillé. ^[3]

Urbain de Maillé Brézé was the first marquis of Brézé, after, in 1615, Louis XIII had raised the marquisate area. He married Nicole du Plessis, sister of Richelieu, and had his children Armand, great admiral of France, who died in Tuscany at the age of 27 without leaving heirs, and Claire-Clémence, who married Luigi II of Bourbon Condé, to whom he passed the held in 1650.

The Condé became the head of the Frond who opposed the regency during the beginning of the reign of the young Louis XIV and, in 1653, the castle was occupied by the real troops.

In 1682 the Condé exchanged Brézé’s castle with that of Galissonière, belonging to Thomas de Dreux.

In 1685 Thomas de Dreux, councilor at the Parliament of Paris, had the title of Marquis of Brézé from King Louis XIV was confirmed.

Henri Evrard de Dreux-Brézé, Grand Master of Louis XVI’s ceremonial, extended the Renaissance part of the castle and his son Pierre, bishop of Moulins, and his grandson Henri Simon further transformed the castle, whose style will get closer to the neo-Gothic thanks to the intervention of 1824 by the architect Angioino René Hodé. ^[2]

The dry moat of this castle is the deepest in Europe, with its 18 meters deep for 13 meters wide. ^[2] The stone for the construction of the building was obtained by digging the ditches. There are a drawbridge and above all a network of galleries of more than one kilometer with basement of the XII century that served as cellars for wine, accommodation for the guards and underground fortress. ^[2]

The underground rooms of the ancient Rocca di Brézé, attested in the ninth century, develop around a central well that gives them light through small cracks. Originally access to the fortress took place through a narrow corridor, ideal for defensive purposes. ^[2] Underground there are also a bigattiera, local for silkworm breeding, a large porker oven and a grade press. ^[2]

In Renaissance style, the castle is equipped with a large gallery, a Renaissance central body and a clock tower; The entrance is flanked by two circular towers; The building develops around a courtyard with a terrace open side. ^[2]

The cylindrical colombaia dating back to the early 16th century, hosting about 3700 nests, is covered by a dome skylight.

• J. Levron, P. d’Herbécourt, R. Favreau E C. Souchon, Maine-et-Loire historical and biographical historical dictionary , 1978.
• The green guide: Castelli della Loira , Edizioni Michelin, 2002, ISBN 2-06-000252-4.