This week we are transported back in time to Bellefleurs, an ornately detailed recreation of a High Renaissance English estate.

Creator India Canning has been active in SL almost from its inception, hence her mastery of world building. It runs in the family, as India tells us that in 2006: “my sister and brother-in-law had been contracted to explore the possibilities of using SL to promote Hawai’ian tourism in a seven {region} project based on West Maui.” 

India loved building inworld so much that she also mentored other Residents. Eventually, she decided to take her creations to the next level: “I decided to combine my background as a professional historian and in architectural design and art into storytelling, and conjured Bellefleurs as an evolving platform, and an open home to the community.” This region encapsulates the many possibilities of creating in the virtual world. Part duchy, part museum, with an educational angle and a romantic fountain. It's whatever you want it to be.

This massive property is a wonderful place to get lost in, with so much potential for storytelling in the walls of art and attention to detail in the countless rooms. There is a level of interactivity for those curious about the region’s narrative. India says “Bellefleurs, rooted in the English history I knew, illustrates the life of a mysterious independent Duchy, yet preserves a lived-in home spanning centuries.  It seeks to provoke thoughts about loss, mortality, as well as love and the essentials of life experience. There is an incomplete, written history, and a huge store of clues and evidence about the background of the elusive Canning and von Baerwald families…” For those who would like to know more, join the official group for more information.

Not to mention the weekly Salon music series, fencing, opera, dancing, and more! Visit Bellefleurs today for an immersive cultural experience.

Video Production Credits:
Draxtor Despres

Bellefleurs

The spectacular Bellefleurs has been the seat of the Duchesses of Ominum since the 1590s. Built in the High English Renaissance style, it offers an incredible treasure of artwork and a full historic background of this authentic, highly detailed experience, as well as an active Salon Music series, opera, dances, En Garde, and other daily events.

Visit in Second Life