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With Charles V, the wise King, the Louvre took a more pleasant and intellectual visage. The King installed his private library, a rich collection of manuscripts, in one of the towers. The architect Raimond du Temple redesigned the housing facilities to be more open to daylight. He built a huge staircase, the "grande vis", decorated with sculptures of the royal family. But the Louvre was still only one of the many royal constructions: la Bastille, Vincennes, the Saint-Paul Hotel were other royal buildings. Francois 1er, fascinated by feasts and constructions, starting to rework the old citadel. He had Philippe Auguste central dungeon destroyed in 1528, invited Charles Quint in 1530, and mandated Pierre Lescot to renovate the palace in 1546. However, the construction mostly expanded under the reigns of the King's sons. |