AZAY-LE-FERRON

'Azay-le-Ferron' is a town and commune in the Indre ''département'' of France. It is sited in the ''Parc naturel régional de la Brenne'', spanning parts of the historic ''pays'' of Berry and Touraine. Azay-Le-Ferron takes its name from ironworks, from which iron was extracted as late as the nineteenth century, and a deformation of ''aqua'', "water".
The château, upon which the ancient commune depended, ranges from fifteenth century construction — the round tower — to eighteenth century, harmonized by the warm stone of which it is built and the blue-gray slates of its various roofs. The ancestral seat of the family Hersent Luzarche, bequeathed to the city of Tours in 1951, now houses a collection of furniture, both of the French Renaissance and in Empire style. It is surrounded by a series of parterre gardens, some with clipped topiary, and a landscaped park.