Lapalisse: The Château of Marshal de La Palice and Its Coffered Ceilings
Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France
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200
XP
+100 France
= 300 total
1 day
Lapalisse: The Château of Marshal de La Palice and Its Coffered Ceilings
200 + 100 XP
Charles I de Bourbon sold the lordship of La Palice to Jacques I de Chabannes on 18 March 1430 for 6,000 gold écus, and the family has held it since. His grandson Jacques II de Chabannes, Marshal of France under François I, built the Renaissance wing in polychrome pink and black brick around 1520, and it holds three remarkable rooms: the Grand Salon de Réception, originally hung with Cordoba leather under a coffered ceiling whose colours are still intact, an Italian studiolo in enfilade with gilded pendant roses at the coffer joints, and on the floor above the Salon Doré, a state room the source calls unique in Europe, which held the 15th-century Flemish Tenture des neuf Preux. The Gothic chapelle Saint-Léger of the late 15th century stands against the old south curtain, and from the terrace you look down on the Besbre.
Required Activities
1
of 4
On the guided tour, pick out the dolphins and the cornucopias in the coffered ceiling of the Grand Salon, then the gold-leafed pendant roses at the coffer joints of the studiolo next door, and work out which of the three ceilings you would give the palm to
2
of 4
In the chapelle Saint-Léger, find the Carrara marble cenotaph Marie de Melun raised about 1530 to the marshal killed at Pavia, the two effigies of 1470 smashed under the Terror, and the little oratory with its own Gothic fireplace on the left of the nave
3
of 4
From the upper terrace, follow the line of the Besbre below and work out which way the old frontier with Burgundy ran — this was one of a chain of castles set to command the valley
4
of 4
From the town side, find the join where the medieval castle meets the Renaissance wing, and look closely at the brickwork Viollet-le-Duc singled out — headers laid end-on into the wall on thick beds of mortar
On the guided tour, pick out the dolphins and the cornucopias in the coffered ceiling of the Grand Salon, then the gold-leafed pendant roses at the coffer joints of the studiolo next door, and work out which of the three ceilings you would give the palm to
In the chapelle Saint-Léger, find the Carrara marble cenotaph Marie de Melun raised about 1530 to the marshal killed at Pavia, the two effigies of 1470 smashed under the Terror, and the little oratory with its own Gothic fireplace on the left of the nave
From the upper terrace, follow the line of the Besbre below and work out which way the old frontier with Burgundy ran — this was one of a chain of castles set to command the valley
From the town side, find the join where the medieval castle meets the Renaissance wing, and look closely at the brickwork Viollet-le-Duc singled out — headers laid end-on into the wall on thick beds of mortar
Before you go
The château is seen only on a guided tour, every day except Tuesday from 1 April to 1 November; outside that season it opens for booked groups only. Tickets are about 10 euros for an adult with a family rate, and the tour takes in stairs between floors.
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Challenge Location
XP Breakdown
Challenge XP
200 XP
France country bonus
+100 XP
Potential total
300 XP
Country bonus earned on completion of your first challenge in France.
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