
The shock was great. At night, someone stole The Mona Lisa (or La Gioconda), the jewel of the collection painted by Leonardo da Vinci in 1507 and purchased by King Francis I for his bathroom for the equivalent of 15 kilograms of gold. The Louvre, however, suffered no losses, as people flocked to see the place where the painting once hung. In 2 years, while the bailiffs were looking for the painting, the museum had more visitors than in the previous 12 years. They found the painting by accident. The thieves, a group of Italians, intending to return the masterpiece back home, became tired of attempts to sell the painting to anyone in Italy. Today, Lisa is safe behind the bullet-proof glass. Only nobody wants to steal it.