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While Romorantin is a peaceful town today—a lovely place to spend a few happy days along the banks of the Sauldre—back in the 16th century, it could have become the beating heart of the Kingdom of France.
Driven by the ambition of Louise of Savoy and the boldness of her son, Francis I, this audacious project aimed to move the capital from Paris—deemed too vulnerable to invaders—to this small Sologne town, transforming it into an "ideal city."
To bring this dream to life, the king enlisted the genius of Leonardo da Vinci. The Italian master, then living at the Clos Lucé, devised a revolutionary urban plan featuring two-level canals (one for drinking water, the other for trade and craftsmanship), houses equipped with running water, and even a sewage system far ahead of its time. Romorantin was intended to be a model city, combining hygiene, modernity, and prestige.
Archives bear witness to the scale of the undertaking: in 1518, 4,000 gold livres were allocated to make the Sauldre navigable—the first step toward a waterway network connecting the Atlantic coast to the Mediterranean. Unfortunately, fate had other plans. In 1519, the death of Leonardo da Vinci deprived the project of its architect. Subsequently, malaria outbreaks struck the construction sites, while the royal coffers—depleted by the Italian Wars—could no longer fund such an ambitious venture.
Francis I then turned his attention to Chambord, where he would implement some of the innovations originally conceived for Romorantin, such as the double-helix staircase. Yet, traces of the project remain: the foundations of the royal palace were unearthed in 2015, and the Romorantin grape variety—introduced by Louise of Savoy—keeps this unfinished dream alive. To explore the traces of this little-known history, the Grand Hôtel du Lion d’Or 1774 offers rooms and suites in the heart of our “ideal city”—a place that very nearly became the capital of France.