The Château du Bois de Sanzay is located in Saint-Martin-de-Sanzay, between Thouars and Saumur. According to documents of the Saint Laon de Thouars abbey, in 1487 the land was bought from the clergy by François de Beaumont, chevalier Seigneur du Boys de Sanzay. The central building was built in the 15th century, and additions were made in the 18th century.
Built using large blocks of tufa stone for some parts and rubble for other parts, the main building has high chimneys, three monumental gothic fireplaces, an échauguette, a chapel, and cellars. The domain also comprises a dovecote, a French formal garden, and a pond.
References:The Church of St Donatus name refers to Donatus of Zadar, who began construction on this church in the 9th century and ended it on the northeastern part of the Roman forum. It is the largest Pre-Romanesque building in Croatia.
The beginning of the building of the church was placed to the second half of the 8th century, and it is supposed to have been completed in the 9th century. The Zadar bishop and diplomat Donat (8th and 9th centuries) is credited with the building of the church. He led the representations of the Dalmatian cities to Constantinople and Charles the Great, which is why this church bears slight resemblance to Charlemagne's court chapels, especially the one in Aachen, and also to the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna. It belongs to the Pre-Romanesque architectural period.
The circular church, formerly domed, is 27 m high and is characterised by simplicity and technical primitivism.