Luxembourg Palace

The Luxembourg Palace stands as a direct architectural echo of the Italian Renaissance in the heart of Paris. Commissioned in sixteen eleven by the Queen Mother Marie de Medici, the structure was intentionally designed to resemble the Palazzo Pitti in her native Florence. To achieve this, she sent architects to Italy to bring back specific plans, resulting in the palace's signature look featuring heavy rusticated stone walls that stood in stark contrast to the smoother building styles common in seventeenth century France. Continue