Restoration and construction of Touraine's historical buildings

In Amboise, the northern facing ramparts (on the Loire side) are currently undergoing restoration. The Louis-Philippe stables located in the extension of the new ticket office will be opened to the public on the 1^st of July at the latest. A lift will also be installed in the castle, on the Heurtault tower side, which will stop on three levels, for disabled access to all of the castle’s facilities. 

At Villandry, the outer wall on the forest side is currently being repaired. Inside the castle, the gallery of Spanish paintings will be renovated. 

At Gizeux, restoration works on the "Castles Gallery" are planned in order to preserve its paintings. An original participatory sponsorship initiative has been implemented in partnership with MyMajorCompany, which managed to raise 21,800 euros - ten times more than expected.  

In La Riche, the General Council of Indre-et-Loire has begun the renovation of the Saint-Cosme priory, 50% of which has been contributed by the Regional Council. It should be finished by the end of 2014. One of the first things to be done is to remove the concrete coating on the outer and inner walls which causes rising damp; when they are dry, the walls will be revamped (whitewashed coating and repointing). At the same time, extensive construction work will be carried out on the gardens (creating 23 garden spaces, installing pergolas, etc.). 

In Savigny-en-Véron, the Community of Municipalities is carrying out works on the Véron ecomuseum to improve the quality of the public visiting experience, in particularly for school groups. The Community is building a teaching room, an entrance hall and toilets, and is alsoreorganising the car park. The site will be closed in 2014, but the Véron ecomuseum will offer a cultural programme outside of the museum walls throughout the territory of Chinon. 

Experimental permaculture experiment

On 11 October 2011, the first tree was planted in the Farm of the Future, at Bourdaisière Castle. The principles of permaculture are tried out here and the results are measured in order to construct a toolbox for the dissemination of this cultural practice, whose aim is to make use of abandoned spaces. "Permaculture is the range of techniques and ways of thinking which aim to create a sustainable, highly energetically economical (manual and mechanical work, fuel, etc.) agricultural production which respects living beings and their reciprocal relationships." ( Wikipedia ) 

Online:

• A stroll through permaculture –  Bourdaisière Castle (Inspire Institut, 27/11/2013)
• In 2014 the Véron ecomuseum will be closed, but it will be active outside the museum walls! (Tourainfopro, 05/12/2013)
• Historical buildings: what's new in 2014? (La Nouvelle République, 12/01/2014)

• The Saint-Cosme priory gets a new face (La Tribune de Tours, 18/12/2014)
• Gizeux, a castle of the Loire saved by the Internet (My Loire Valley, 07/01/2014)

At Villandry, the outer wall on the forest side is currently being repaired. Inside the castle, the gallery of Spanish paintings will be renovated.