In the mid-1980s Francis had commissioned a grandiose headquarters near Paris that was modelled on the Palace of Versailles.

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From these plans, as well as extensive inventories of construction materials carefully preserved by the French court to reflect the magnificence of the finished palace, Zega and Dams were able to trace the peculiar rise of Versailles.

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Cosimo I de' Medici, then the second duke of Florence, purchased the Palazzo Pitti in 1549, and up until the completion of Versailles in Paris in the early 18th Century, Palazzo Pitti was considered the most opulent palace in Europe.

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Before writing off the former royal residence of Versailles as another tourist trap, bear in mind that most visitors stick to the Royal Palace and Chateau and never venture to the grounds beyond.

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