Price of opulence

Extravagance is always expensive but some can be fatal, in as the case of the royalty of France whose opulence led to a revolution, the cutting off of their heads and the end of monarchy.

This opulence is no better reflected by the palace of the royal estate in Versailles (don’t pronounce the last four letters) which today, ironically, brings millions of euros daily into the French national coffers.

The visit to France should always include the Palace of Versailles and its gardens outside of Paris. This palace is one of the most famous of French (and the world) heritage, a monument to the “finest achievement of French art” as its brochure proclaims and yet it also represents the extravagance of royalty and the price on the people who had to pay punishing taxes  not only to fund the wars but to construct this Palace.

It is right that it should now earn for France euros that go down to fund the services to the people.

This was originally the brick and stone palace of King Louis XIII but his son, Louis XIV transferred the seat of government from Paris to this estate in 1682 and around it rose the township of Versailles which in itself is a beautiful example of French art in the still standing buildings, houses and churches.

One passes through this center to the Palace that looms magnificently at the distance especially at early morning when the rays of the sun strikes at the gold plated grills of the main gate and the palace itself beyond the Court of Honor where honor guards receive the dignitaries that visited the occupants of the palace.

Official visitors enter the palace from the courtyard but tourists have to pass through the series of rooms and into the different parts of the palace. Thanks to modern technology, visitors are provided with earphones to listen to the audio in each listening room where the important features of the room are described and explained and its history narrated. There are also markers in each piece giving the same information. In effect, one can leave rich in French history, culture and the arts as well as the depravities of the former occupants.

Louis XIV improved the palace and his successors did the same until the French revolution of 1789 that drove and killed the royalty. When the royalty was restored in 1837 (after Napoleon’ defeat) it was converted into a museum and “dedicated to All the Glories of France.”

Indeed, Versailles Palace exemplifies the glories of France in its arts but not in its other ventures especially in its overseas possessions.

Each room has a history aside from the historical events represented in the beautiful paintings on the walls and pieces of sculptures displayed well in the corridors.

One room that gets the tourist interest is the canopied bed in the Queen’s room that is connected by a small door into the King’s room. Nearby is another bedroom where the king held war conferences.

The Palace has a baroque, elaborately furnished chapel but the king and the queen and their retinue heard Mass at the balcony overlooking the altar.

One of the favorite places within the palace is the Hall of Mirrors which forms part of the King’s Apartments.

There is a room for the Dauphin, the successor to the throne but bereft of toys. Fortunately we were able to visit this room because it was closed only this week. The daughters of the king, of course, have their own apartments but not as elaborately furnished as that of the king or the queen. Perhaps during their lifetimes, the dauphin and his sisters had more decorations or playthings.

The Palaces of Trianon, especially the Grand Trianon are tourist attractions but we were unable to visit it. We only saw it at a distance from the Palace (State Apartments) as the Palace Gardens which was undergoing rehabilitation, repair and sprucing up.

If you have seen the latest film of the Three Musketeers and some other films set in France during the heyday of royalty, you will easily see the Gardens with its manicured hedges and geometrical design.

A whole day would be sufficient to visit the entire palace but sometimes legs are unable to carry us along. What is important is that we had a glimpse of why the French eventually got tired of their leaders and cut off their heads.

That is the price of their opulence. We got a taste of that luxurious lifestyle at 15 euros each. Multiply that by P54.00. Not bad for a look at history and a lesson for leaders who think they can browbeat the people with the opulence of their power and get away with it.

Sadly, many never learn the lessons of history. *

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