The king most associated with Chambord is King François 1er, who came to the throne when he was only 20 years old. François had been involved with the French wars in Italy and had been very impressed with the architecture he had seen there. He was also very interested in the arts and sciences and succeeded in bringing Leonardo da Vinci to France. In Chambord, he managed to blend the elements of new Italian Renaissance architecture with those of French tradition.Work started on the château in 1519, with 2000 workmen on site. It took until 1547 to complete the building. It was built on the site of an old castle used for hunting.
