Palace of Versailles

A leading French art expert is to face trial on charges of forgery for building furniture that he falsely claimed to be from the 18th century and was sold at high prices to buyers who included the Palace of Versailles.

The chateau of Versailles will reopen the private rooms of Queen Marie-Antoinette as part of its ongoing 400th anniversary celebrations.

The restored apartments will reopen to the public on June 27, featuring 100 square metres of luxurious living space where France's last queen played with her children and received friends.

The Royal Palace of Caserta, a long-neglected architectural jewel near Naples, is being returned to its former glory through a vast restoration project, partly financed by the EU's recovery fund.

Nicknamed the "Italian Versailles," after the royal palace near Paris, the Italian UNESCO site boasts 1,200 rooms, 1,742 windows and 123 hectares of lush gardens.

A new exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York seeks to recreate some of the grandeur of the Versailles royal palace in France.

Vandals have sprayed yellow paint on a controversial sculpture on display in the gardens of France's famed Palace of Versailles that has become known as the "queen's vagina".
 
"Damage to the work 'Dirty Corner' was discovered June 17 morning. It was lightly sprayed with paint. The work is being cleaned," the estate's management said.