Amboise

Amboise , town (1991 pop. 10,972), Indre-et-Loire dept., N central France, in Touraine, on the Loire. It is a wine and wool market, and its manufactures include sporting goods, pharmaceuticals, and film and radio equipment. The town is chiefly famous, however, for its Gothic château, a royal residence from the reign of Charles VIII (who was born and died there) to that of Francis II. Leonardo da Vinci, who probably worked on it, is said to be buried in its chapel. Amboise was the scene (1560) of a Huguenot plot against the Guise family. Other old structures in the town include St. Denis Church (12th, 15th, 16th, and 17th cent.), St. Florentine Church (15th cent.), the town hall (16th cent.; restored), and the Clos-Lucé (15th cent.), where Francis I spent part of his youth and where da Vinci died.