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Josephine Baker is remembered with that famous phrase of "I have two loves: my country and Paris", but surely in the 50s she would have added one more: the
Château des Milandes
, the castle that she first rented and then bought in the Dordogne, the so-called land of 1,001 castles and, therefore, with nothing to envy to the fortresses of the Loire.
It will be next November 30 when she will become the first black woman to enter the Pantheon of France, the mausoleum where the most distinguished figures of the Gallic country rest, from Voltaire to Rousseau and from Victor Hugo to Emile Zola.
The first legend surely to achieve fame for walking with a leopard on the Avenue des Champs-Élysées and for leaving the staff speechless with that
Danse Sauvage
at the
Folies Bergère
, the mythical cabaret, dressed in that
banana miniskirt
.
It is one of the pieces that are preserved in the castle of Milandes, along with other dresses, photographs and objects that illustrate the life of that 'ebony Venus' born in Missouri, USA, in 1906.
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Nestled southeast of Sarlat, next to the beautiful Dordogne River (Aquitaine region), and surrounded by majestic gardens, the Renaissance castle of Milandes has been turned into a museum that can be visited throughout the year.
One of those castles from
Sleeping Beauty
that the star fell in love with in the 30s of the last century and later transformed into her home and that of her unique family.
Married to the magnate Jean Lion, thanks to whom she acquired French citizenship, Baker decided to expand the family by creating a small
United Nations
from scratch.
For this she adopted
twelve children
from different parts of the world to form what she called the Rainbow Tribe.
The chapel and the iconic Dordogne fortress SHUTTERTSOCK
What's more, the dancer turned the castle into a kind of stage where they can be exhibited to visitors. It was one of the extravagant edges of his hectic biography. In addition to being a dancer, Baker forged her legend as a spy in World War II and later as a civil rights activist. He had time to marry four times and, they say, fall in love with characters like Le Corbusier, George Simenon, Collette and Frida Kahlo, among the most popular names.
"The
most sensational
woman
anyone has ever seen", in the words of Ernest Hemingway, was certainly its most famous inhabitant, but the castle was built in 1489 by Francois de Caumont.
The
château
would remain in ruins after the French Revolution until the star decided to restore its towers and pointed roofs, its stained glass windows and gargoyles that today make up one of the most beautiful ensembles in the area.
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Inside there is also a lot of
art deco,
the popular style of the time that can still be seen in the bedrooms and in a spectacular bathroom full of perfume bottles where it is easy to imagine Baker getting ready before going on stage.
Unfortunately, the debts forced the artist to sell the castle, despite repeated help from Brigitte Bardot.
In 1964 the Château des Milandes was auctioned to the highest bidder.
Baker would later settle on the
Côte d'Azur
with the help of Grace Kelly, Princess of Monaco.
| Château des Milandes.
Castelnaud-la-Chapelle, France.
Tlno.
+33 5 53 59 31 21. Web: www.milandes.com
According to the criteria of The Trust Project
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