Originally a royal palace, the building was used as a court base until 1682.
During this time, King Louis XIV moved the court to Versailles, another famous French landmark.
In 1793 it opened as a museum.
Mona Lisa is sometimes referred to by the alternate name of La Gioconda (viaBritannica).
Translated into English, Gioconda means a light-hearted woman, hence the woman’s smile in the painting.
It could also be a potential pun on her husband’s surname.
