In 1530, following the advice of fellow humanists, King François I, a patron of the arts (it was he who acquired the Mona Lisa), founded the Collège Royal, which later became the Collège de France. It was a place where knowledge could be dispensed freely with none of the constraints of a university. To this day the Collège grants no degrees and has no entry or registration requirements. The dozens of weekly lectures delivered in the sciences and the humanities are open to the public.
