tourists in the Loire usually have their noses aimed skyward as they gaze at one of the region’s countless grand châteaux. These are not the stolid, bourgeois châteaux of Bordeaux. These are breathtaking monuments to the aristocratic splendor of another era, works of art in themselves, and much of French history transpired within their walls. Joan of Arc was transformed from peasant girl to historical figure within the stone walls of the château at Chinon. Richard the Lion-Hearted died there. One of its proprietors was the sinister, ingenious Cardinal Richelieu. Leonardo da Vinci is buried in
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