In Monaco, serial discoveries at the Prince’s Palace
NARRATIVE – Restoration work has revealed the Renaissance treasures of the monument where Prince Albert lives. A refurnishing delivered in parallel highlights the parts open to the visit.
They had embarked on three weeks of restoration work on the facade. Eight years later, the scaffolding is still there, hiding part of the princely palace of Monaco in which Prince Albert works and resides with his wife and their two children. The palace, which has just reopened to the public after two years of closure, is undergoing a visible change, thanks to a series of heritage discoveries, an in-depth restoration and a redevelopment of the Grands Appartements.
In 2013, the facades framing the main courtyard of the palace, damaged by sea salt, must be restored. The work began and it was there that the restorers realized that an old decor remained under the repainted sofas of the 19th century.e century. “We thought the original sets had disappeared. However, we realized that nearly 75% of the painted surface dating from the Renaissance was still there, under the ceiling of the Hercules gallery.explains Christian Gautier, who coordinates…