Palace is the home of a head of state or other high-ranking public figure. In some countries, such as Italy, the term is also applied to some private mansions. Many palaces are now put to other uses such as parliaments or museums. The word is also sometimes used to describe a lavish public building which does not house a public figure; this use is intended to convey that the building is a "people's palace", where a sort of civic consciousness resides.
The word "palace" comes from the name of one of the seven hills of Rome, the Palatine Hill. The original 'palaces' on the Palatine Hill were the seat of the imperial power, while the capitol on the Capitoline Hill was the seat of the senate and the religious nucleus of Rome. Palace meaning "government" can be recognized in a remark of Paul the Deacon, writing ca 790 and describing events of the 660s: "When Grimuald set out for Beneventum, he intrusted his palace to Lupus" (Historia gentis Langobardorum, V.xvii). At the same time Charlemagne was consciously reviving the Roman expression in his "palace" at Aachen, of which only his chapel remains. In the 9th century the "palace" indicated the housing of the government too, and the constantly-travelling Charlemagne built fourteen. In France, there has been a clear distinction between a château and a palais. The palace has always been urban, like the Palais de la Cité in Paris, which was the royal palace of France and is now the supreme court of justice of France, or the palace of the Popes at Avignon. n the Americas, the Aztec Emperors built many palaces, some of which may still be seen. Also in Mexico is Chapultepec Palace located in the middle of Chapultepec Park in Mexico City. It currently houses the Mexican National Museum of History. In England, by tacit agreement, there have been no "palaces" other than those used as official residences by royalty and certain bishops. Thus the Palace of Beaulieu gained its name precisely when Thomas Boleyn sold it to Henry VIII in 1517; previously it had been known as Walkfares.
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In more recent years, the word has been used in a more informal sense for other large, impressive buildings, such as The Crystal Palace of 1851 (an immensely large, glazed hall erected for the Great Exhibition) and modern arenas-convention centres like Alexandra Palace (which is no more a palace than Madison Square Garden is a garden).
The largest palace in the world is Palace of the Parliament in Bucharest, Romania. Built during the socialist regime, no effort or expense was spared to raise this colossal neo-classic building, second largest inhabited structure in the world after the Pentagon.
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