La Palice à Lapalisse

The château de La Palice is located in the town of Lapalisse. Two spellings, same pronunciation, probably because of historically competing regional dialects. The castle was constructed between the 12th and 14th centuries by the La Palice family, who owned it through the 16th century. Then the ownerships get a little muddled, as the male heirs to the property were killed in battles, leaving it to the heiresses, who then married and re-married and had children who married and had children, etcetera, etcetera.

Part of the castle's ramparts and round tower as glimpsed from a nearby street.

The lineage is recounted in all its begotten detail in the Wikipedia entry about the castle, but I lost interest at some point between the 16th and 18th centuries. The castle remains privately owned, and guided tours are given in the summer months. It was, of course, closed when we visited, but again, we wouldn't have gone inside because of the dog.

I posted a photo of the castle above the town last week here.