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'Plus d'espoir'. No more hope. Engraved on the Château
Montal window, where the widow Jeanne carried on her lonely vigil
for the return of Robert, her eldest son, from the Italian wars.
He didn't make it, (killed at the Battle of Pavia in 1525) hence
this inscription of despair.
The Revolution brought disaster to Montal, near St
Céré, as, following its seizure as a "national
asset", the gallant citizens took this literally, and
demolished it bit by bit, selling off a chimney here, a cartload
of stone there.
To the rescue in 1908, came super-rich industrialist Maurice Fenaille
who set about a truly remarkable restoration, tracking down missing
bits of Montal, as far away as America! He handed the restored and
refurbished Montal back to the nation in 1913.
Check out the fabulous Rennaissance staircase and its rich stone
carving on the underside of each step.
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