The Mona Lisa was stolen in 1911 by an Italian who had worked in the Louvre and believed that
Napoleon had stolen all of the Italian works in the museum. In fact, the picture had been purchased by King Francis I from
Leonardo himself in 1517. The price was 30 pounds of gold! Fortunately for us, the Mona Lisa was found two years later in
Florence, and returned to the Louvre.
The museum took its name from the Latin word "luperia" which means wolf lodge or hunting
lodge, when the king Philippe Auguste built a lodge here and fearing a Viking invasion while he was away fighting the Crusades,
ordered it to be surrounded by fortified walls. After the Hundred Years' War, this massive fortress became a royal residence.
Henri IV was married to Marie de Medecis, however he was known for having a number of mistresses
and their children at the Louvre until he died in 1610. Stabbed by an assassin in the streets of Paris, he was rushed back
inside the Louvre, where he became the only king to die within its walls.
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