Owners of this old Loire Valley cave dwelling cut into a soft limestone cliff in Rue Victor Hugo at Amboise, Centre-Val de Loire, France, have done much to modernise it – including adding two satellite dishes to the façade. Although some of the thousands of caves along the Loire are now disused and derelict, a fresh wave of interest in the troglodyte lifestyle has prompted the conversion of others to summer homes, holiday rentals, wine cellars, mushroom farms, museums and restaurants.
Amboise, Loire Valley, Centre-Val de Loire, France: owners of this troglodyte dwelling cut into a limestone cliff beside Rue Victor Hugo have done much to modernise it – including adding two satellite dishes to the facade. For at least a thousand years, people have lived in the caves they cut in the soft and easily-worked rock faces, cliffs and hills of the Loire Valley. Families would quarry the stone to sell it and then use the caves as low-cost living or working space. The caverns offered good protection from the elements and had the added advantage of staying at fairly constant temperatures around 12 degrees Celsius, making them all-year habitats providing warmth in winter but staying cool in summer. Widespread quarrying of the limestone tufa or tuffeau began in the 11th century. Most of the caves were inhabited until the early 20th century and although some are now empty and derelict, a wave of fresh interest in recent decades has sparked historical research and encouraged new generations to try the troglodyte lifestyle. Thousands of caves are now used as dwellings, summer homes, tourist rentals, wine cellars, mushroom farms, museums, restaurants and chapels. Some are a warren or small rooms while others are no more than a single cell.
Size: 2592px × 3872px
Location: Rue Victor Hugo, Amboise, Loire Valley, Centre-Val de Loire, France.
Photo credit: © Terence Kerr / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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