The times, they are a'changing, though.  This castle was the first chosen by Charles VIII and Anne de Bretagne to be converted to the new style of abode adapted to leisure and joy.  Their marriage had united a France victorious over England and Burgundy with the powerful and independent duchy of Brittany.  Modern France is now largely complete.  Charles VIII was no longer on the defensive.  He and Anne looked to expand French authority southward into Italy.   It was there that they discovered first hand a wealth of new ideas and artistic designs.  Combined with the heritage of the French Gothic, the Italian Renaissance has a resonance here found nowhere else in the world.