HIDDEN GEM: AFTER ALL the hype that surrounded The Da Vinci Code, could there be anything we don't all know about Leonardo da Vinci - such as where he died and is buried, for instance?
Although hundreds of thousands of visitors pass through the doors of the Château d'Amboise in the Loire Valley in France every year, most are simply on a château crawl, and have no idea of the da Vinci connection until they get there.
And I know from experience that even when you do find out, it all seems so very unlikely. What was Leonardo doing here, so far from his native Italy? Had he stopped painting? And if not, what did he produce before his death?
What happened was that, at the age of 64, following the death of his patron, Giuliano de Medici, in 1516, Leonardo found himself without a protector.
Then in stepped King Francis I of France, who made him an offer he couldn't refuse: a stipend, a manor house, and best of all the title "Premier Painter and Engineer and Architect of the King".
Although Leonardo was ageing and suffering from paralysis of the right hand, he was still able to draw. He produced studies of cats, horses and dragons, drawings of the Deluge and the Virgin Mary and outlines of various new machines.
But most importantly, his manor house, Le Clos Lucé, in the grounds of the château, is where Leonardo finally finished the Mona Lisa,which he'd brought with him from Italy, but which was now to remain in France.
Artist and king are reputed to have become close during da Vinci's three years at Amboise. And in 1519 - so the story goes - da Vinci died with his head cradled by King Francis.
• Château d'Amboise, Loire Valley, 00-33-2-47570098, www.chateau-amboise.com
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