Palace of Versailles to keep the secrets proprietary to the Venetian Republic. To meet the demands for decorating and furnishing Versailles, Colbert nationalised the tapestry factory owned by the Gobelin family, to become the Manufacture royale des Gobelins. In 1667, the name of the enterprise was changed to the Manufacture royale des Meubles de la Couronne. The Gobelins were charged with all decoration needs of the palace, which was under the direction of Charles Le Brun. One of the most costly elements in the furnishing of the "grands appartements" during the early years of the personal reign of Louis XIV was the silver
History of the Palace of Versailles did not reside in the château, apartments were, however, arranged and decorated for the use of the empress Marie-Louise. The emperor chose to reside at the Grand Trianon. The château continued to serve, however, as an annex of the Hôtel des Invalides Nevertheless, on 3 January 1805, Pope Pius VII, who came to France to officiate at Napoléon's coronation, visited the palace and blessed the throng of people gathered on the "parterre d'eau" from the balcony of the Hall of Mirrors. The Bourbon Restoration saw little activity at Versailles. Areas of the gardens were replanted but no significant restoration and