Palace of the King of Rome

Napoleon Bonaparte envisioned this site as the centerpiece of a colossal imperial city dedicated to his infant son. In eighteen eleven, he commissioned architects Charles Percier and Pierre Fontaine to design an immense, neoclassical palace on the hill of Chaillot. The ambitious project was intended to rival the grandeur of Versailles and serve as a permanent residence for the young heir, known as the King of Rome. Napoleon wanted the site to embody the power and reach of his empire, creating a monument that would dominate the western edge of Paris.