Château de Madrid

The Château de Madrid features a long, low profile with a facade broken by rounded windows and patterned brickwork. Francis the First ordered its construction in fifteen twenty-eight, intending it as a pleasure retreat near the Bois de Boulogne. He hired Italian artisans to cover the exterior in vibrant, glazed terracotta tiles, which earned the residence its nickname, the Château de Faïence. After years of royal use, the building eventually fell into decay, and developers demolished the remaining stone walls in the nineteenth century.