Neither the loss of an eye nor the paralysis of his right hand could stop Leonardo da Vinci from continuing to work during his last years. He died at the Château Clos-Lucé in France, where he lived a peaceful retirement, protected by his patron, the French King Francis I.
Leonardo da Vinci accompanied Pope Leo X to Bologna, where the pontiff met the French king Francis I. The monarch offers Leonardo to appoint him royal architect and painter, inviting him to settle in the town of Amboise on the Loire. Da Vinci accepted and moved to France, crossing the Alps accompanied by his pupils. In the small château of Cloux, offered by the queen mother, Bonne of Savoy, Leonardo da Vinci spent the last years of his life putting his numerous manuscripts and drawings in order. Despite the loss of an eye and the paralysis of his right hand, he managed to complete a number of projects for the king, such as the grand staircase of the Château de Chambord, several theatrical performances and the town planning of Romorantin. As his death approached, he asked to be buried in the church of Saint-Florentin, in memory of his beloved Florence. One of his last prayers was: “I thank you, Lord, for the love I owe you and because you can shorten or lengthen the lives of men.
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