Leonardo invented the first humanoid robot in 1495 when the Duke of Milan asked him to come up with something special to impress his guests at the pageants he held in his castle.

By the time Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte gave Château Amboise to Roger Ducos, one of his henchman, the ancient church of Saint Florentin was falling into decay.

Religion being very much out of favour with French Revolutionaries, Ducos ordered its demolition.

The last time they saw each other was in 1499 in Italy, but by co-incidence Leonardo and his most loyal patron, Ludovico Sforza, the Duke of Milan, the Italians died in France just twenty-five miles from each other.

In 1516, after a perilous, tiring journey from Italy over the Alps Leonardo arrived in Amboise.

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Did Leonardo die in the arms of his close friend the King of France?

Detractors say that the King was nowhere near Amboise when Leonardo died.

What is known is that on the day Leonardo died, François had just had a Royal Proclamation drawn up but left the room in a hurry without signing it.

It’s not too fanciful to think that the King DID hold Leonardo in his arms but that The Master had already died.

Controversy still rages over whether Leonardo was a vegetarian but a letter sent to his last patron, Giuliano di Lorenzo de' Medici, indicates he was.

Francois I, King of France, decided to move his capital from Paris to Romorantin about forty miles away from Amboise.

He planned to raze the old town, replace it with a grand city and make Romorantin the capital of France in honour of his mother, Louise of Savoy.

Mother and son were devoted to each other. Whenever he was away from Chateau Amboise, she stayed in her favourite château in Romorantin.

There was only one man in France who could design his new city.

Leonardo embraced the project with gusto. It meant he could showcase his talents as an architect and engineer.