¿PORQUE NAPOLEON ERA FRANC MASON? MENSAJES SUBLIMINALES DE YHWH TODOPODEROSO
A pesar de los errores de los lideres politicos, YHWH, LOS USA PARA DARNOS MENSAJES SUBLIMINALES CON REFERENCIA AL SANTO GRIAL. ASI PASO CON ADOLF HITLER, FIDEL CASTRO, CHE GUEVARA, CHAVEZ, JUAN DOMINGO PERON, JOHN KENNEDY, ETC,ETC. NAPOLEON TIENE UN NEXO CON EL LEON, OSEA UN NEXO CON LEONARDO DAVINCI, EN EL MARCO A FRANCIA / ANK / LIBERTAD. ESE ES EL ORIGEN DEL PORQUE NAPOLEON TUVO RELACION CON EL COMPLEJO GIZE/ ORION / ISHTAR GATE. SABEMOS QUE LA ESFINGE DE GIZE, ESTA DISEÑADA EN FUNCION A AL COMIENZO DE LA ERA DE ACUARIO (PATRON DEL CALENDARIO DE NOE) EN funcion a la PRECESION DE LOS EQUINOCCIOS.
En el marco a APOCALIPSIS 12 E INCLUSO APOCALIPSIS 4:7, en funcion al movimiento de la PRECESION DEL PLANETA TIERRA EN SU MOVIMIENTO DE 25920 AÑOS, la tierra hace aproximadamente 12960 AÑOS estaba en LA ERA DE LEO y es en ese MARCO EL DISEÑO DEL COMPLEJO GIZE. LA ESFINGE (HOMBRE-LEON) ESTA DISEÑADA EN FUNCION A LA LINEA LEO-ACUARIO O ACUARIO-LEO. EN DICHA ERA, EL 21/22 DE MARZO VA A ESTAR EN ACUARIO Y EL 21/22 DE SEPTIEMBRE, OSEA EN LOS EQUINOCCIOS VA A ESTAR EN LEO. NO FUE CASUALIDAD QUE NAPOLEON VISITO EGIPTO. TODOS SON MENSAJES SUBLIMINALES DE YHWH TODOPODEROSO. CONCRETAMENTE GIZE ESTA DISEÑADO EN FUNCION A LA ERA DE ACUARIO. LEONARDO DA VINCI O EL CODIGO DA VINCI ES SINONIMO DE GIZE.
"The evidence in favor of a Masonic initiation previous to Napoleon's ... THE question whether Buonaparte was a Freemason or not has never been decided. ... "You ask me Sir, why it was that in my work on Free Masonry I did not say a word ...
Para los historiadores que se afilian a la leyenda negra de la masonería como sociedad secreta conspiradora, la historia de Napoleón Bonaparte, Le Petit ...
Napoleón Bonaparte ha sido proclamado y considerado Masón, asi como también lo han sido su padre, hermanos, e incluso los militares tenientes que se ...
27 Feb 2013 ... Les recomiendo además la novela de César Vidal, Los Hijos de la Luz (Plaza Janés, 2005), yo estuve en el jurado que la premió Con el ...
En vísperas de la revolución francesa, la masonería reunía adeptos de todas ..... «Franc-Maçonnerie et sociétés secrètes contre Napoléon» (Francmasonería y ...
Después del nacimiento en Inglaterra de la denominada masonería ... favorecido pero al mismo tiempo utilizado por el Emperador Napoleón I, ... Es un hecho simbólico que Eugène Pottier, que escribió La Internacional, fue francmasón.
Mosaicos de BEIT ALPHA en Galilea Israel. Arqueología de una de las primeras Sinagogas Cristianas.
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El zodíaco calendárico en el monasterio de Lady Mary en Beit Shean en el Mar de Galilea. Este "zodíaco" tiene una pareja central de Jesús y María, representada como Helios-Sol y Selene-Luna, rodeada por doce meses-discípulos. La Mesa Redonda Artúrica también se basó en el diseño del zodíaco.
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Mosaico decorativo en Sinagoga Hammath Tiberias - Cristo es el Sol
Simca Jacobovich examina el Mosaico de un Monasterio Cristiano de los Años 5XX ( Quinientos y Pico ) con Cristo y Magdalena como Dioses Sol y Luna.
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Nos aproximamos al Mosaico de BEIT ALPHA en una Sinagoga Cristiana de Galilea en Israel. Esto es Arqueología. Cristo como Helios en Medio del Zodíaco.
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Azeneth o Azenath es supuestamente María Magdalena y la pican las Abejas que son Símbolos de Artemis y de otras Diosas como Inana, Ishtar y Astarté. Diosas Luna y Reinas de los Cielos, así como Jesús ( en este Caso José ) es igualado al dios SOL Helios.
1342: en Europa sucede la Inundación del Día de María Magdalena, la más grande registrada en ese continente (los niveles de agua superaron los de las inundaciones de 2002). Los ríos Rin, Mosela, Danubio, Elba y sus tributarios inundaron las ciudades de Colonia, Maguncia, Fráncfort del Meno, Wurzburgo, Ratisbona, Passau y Viena, que quedaron seriamente dañadas. También hubo muchos daños en la región de Carintia y el norte de Italia. Se desconoce el número de víctimas, pero solo en el área del río Danubio murieron 6000 personas. Los siguientes años habrá veranos fríos, que provocará la falta de alimentos en todo el continente. Seis años después se registrará la Peste negra, que matará a un tercio de la población de Europa.
The only fresco in a Parisian church in which the figure of Napoleon appears is the one that adorns the half-dome of the Church of the Madeleine. Painted by Ziegler, it gathers around Christ, Mary Magdalene and the apostles the great people who have shaped Christianity: Constantine, Clovis, Godfrey of Bouillon, Frederick Barbarossa, Joan of Arc, Dante, Raphael, Pius VII and the Emperor in his coronation robes.
In 1499 the Swiss gained independence from the Holy Roman Emperor and expanded their territory by invading nearby areas. Around this time, Swiss mercenaries were the most sought after and feared troops in Europe. But in 1515 they were defeated by combined French and Venetian forces at the battle of Marignano. Realising that they could not compete against larger states, the Swiss stopped trying to expand and declared neutrality. Later that century, the Reformation led to religious divides within the country, but the Swiss remained neutral during the resulting religious warfare in Europe. The French invaded Switzerland in 1798 and created a puppet state. After the defeat of Napoleon, however, Switzerland’s “perpetual neutrality” was guaranteed by international treaty.
Above: A Swiss postcard from the First World War period. It associates the soldiers of the day (right) with citizens of 1291 who created the Swiss federal charter of that year, which formed the origins of modern-day Switzerland. Other patriotic postcards from the time referred to the Swiss folk hero William Tell.
Before considering the First World War period, it is worth quickly summarising earlier Swiss history. The area that is now Switzerland came under Roman rule, and then that of the Holy Roman Empire (which also covered much of the rest of central Europe, from modern Germany down to northern Italy). In 1291, some Swiss regions united against the Holy Roman Empire, forming a defence league. Other cities and districts gradually joined the league, and this was the origin of the system of cantons: a loose confederation of administrative districts, comparable in some ways to US states, with no strong central government.
In 1848, a new federal constitution was drawn up, which formed the basis for modern Switzerland, recognising 22 (later 23) cantons and establishing the capital at Berne. During the second half of that century, Switzerland tried (not always successfully) to keep out of international politics as much as possible.
Above: A 1914 postcard marking the moment only 100 years before when Geneva had joined the rest of the Swiss confederation.
The country was actually relatively young in 1914. The traditional date for the founding of the Swiss state is 1291, but it has been argued that the state was really founded during and immediately after the Napoleonic Wars. That was when Switzerland became a republic, rather than a loose union of cantons, and gained the first significant numbers of French- and Italian-speaking inhabitants.
The only fresco in a Parisian church in which the figure of Napoleon appears is the one that adorns the half-dome of the Church of the Madeleine. Painted by Ziegler, it gathers around Christ, Mary Magdalene and the apostles the great people who have shaped Christianity: Constantine, Clovis, Godfrey of Bouillon, Frederick Barbarossa, Joan of Arc, Dante, Raphael, Pius VII and the Emperor in his coronation robes.
Para ser una iglesia, la Madeleine tiene sin duda una forma extraña, pues parece más bien un templo de la antigua Roma. La explicación hay que buscarla en la turbulenta historia de París en los años que rodean a la Revolución Francesa.
Historia del monumento
La antigua Madeleine
Antes de que esta zona de la ciudad quedara completamente alterada con la construcción de la enorme Plaza de la Concordia, existía en este lugar una pequeña iglesia de la Madeleine. Pero el diseño de la nueva plaza exigía una iglesia más grande, cerrando la perspectiva de la "Calle Real", que conducía hasta ella.
Cuando estalló la Revolución Francesa, la iglesia se encontraba todavía a medio construir, e inmediatamente se detuvieron las obras.
Pasado el periodo revolucionario, Napoleón quiso convertir la iglesia inacabada en un templo pagano, dedicado a la gloria del Gran Ejército, la Grande Armée. Para ello, derribó todo lo construido hasta entonces, y comenzó a levantarse el edificio que hoy contemplamos.
Pero finalmente, viendo que su efímero Imperio se derrumbaba, decidió que el edificio, ya muy avanzado, volviera a su uso original como iglesia.
Exterior del monumento
La Madeleine tiene la forma de un templo "periptero", es decir, rodeado de columnas por sus cuatro costados, como los templos griegos. Y posee las mismas dimensiones que el mayor templo de la antigua Grecia: el de Zeus Olímpico de Atenas.
Los elementos más destacados en el exterior de La Madeleine son:
1. El frontón
Fue construido después de la Restauración borbónica, en tiempos de Luis Felipe de Orleans, el "rey ciudadano". Aunque Luis Felipe había sido partidario de la Revolución, quiso que la imagen de este gran frontón tuviera un espíritu de conciliación. Por eso permitió que apareciera en él María Magdalena arrodillada ante Jesucristo Juez, como una alegoría de la Francia arrepentida, que suplica perdón por la ejecución de Luis XVI.
En efecto, a pocos pasos de esta iglesia, en la Plaza de la Concordia, había tenido lugar, el 21 de enero de 1792, la muerte del rey en la guillotina.
2. Puertas de bronce
Las puertas de entrada al templo son uno de los elementos más impresionantes de esta iglesia, por sus colosales dimensiones y por la fuerza de sus relieves.
Fueron realizadas por el barón Henri de Triqueti y representan "Los diez mandamientos". Los dos primeros se encuentran en el panel horizontal de la parte superior, y los otros 8 en las hojas de las puertas.
Estos son los mandamientos, y las escenas que los representan. Todas ellas están tomadas del Antiguo Testamento y tienen gran fuerza expresiva.
"No tendrás otros dioses fuera de mí". Escena que lo ilustra: el pueblo judío recibe las tablas de la Ley.
"No invocarás en vano el nombre de Dios". El pueblo judío ante Moisés.
"Santificarás las fiestas". Dios descansa el séptimo día.
"Honra a tu padre y a tu madre". Noé maldice al hizo que se burló de él.
"No matarás". Caín es castigado por la muerte de su hermano.
"No cometerás adulterio". El profeta Natán recrimina al rey David.
"No robarás". Josué dictando sentencia por un robo.
"No levantarás falso testimonio". Daniel defiende a la casta Susana ante la acusación injusta.
"No codiciarás la mujer de tu prójimo". Dios rescata a Sara, la mujer de Abraham.
"No codiciarás la casa de tu prójimo". Elías recrimina al rey Acab por codiciar la viña de Nabot, y darle muerte.
Detalle del 5º mandamiento. Abel yace en tierra tras ser asesinado por Caín. Foto: joz
Visita al interior
Si el exterior de La Madeleine parece un templo pagano de la Antigüedad, el interior se organiza como unas termas, con gran profusión de mármoles de colores.
Su mayor defecto es la escasa luz natural, que deja a la iglesia habitualmente en semipenumbra.
El techo se cierra mediante bóvedas rebajadas, adornadas con casetones y con un gran óculo en el centro, inspiradas en el Panteón de Roma.
Foto: Guilhem Vellut (recorte)
La iglesia está llena de esculturas realizadas por artistas que fueron los mejores en su momento. El gobierno de Luis Felipe de Orleans puso gran cuidado la decoración de esta iglesia, que debía ser "El Remplo de la Reconciliación nacional", tras las convulsiones de la Revolución Francesa y del Imperio. Por eso destinó a La Madeleine grandes cantidades de recursos.
Las piezas más vistosas son:
El gran grupo escultórico sobre el altar principal, obra de Charles Marochetti. Se llama "El arrebato de María Magdalena", a la que muestra en éxtasis, en el momento de ser arrebatada al cielo, transportada en una canastilla por ángeles de enormes alas.
El enorme fresco de Jules-Claude Ziegler, en el casquete del ábside. En él aparecen representados personajes de la Iglesia, de todas las épocas y culturas. La escena central representa a Cristo, que acoge y perdona a María Magdalena (alegoría de Francia arrepentida, como en el relieve del frontón).
Una banda a los pies de la santa explica el motivo: dilexit multum, amó mucho.
En el fresco aparece también la figura de Napoleón Bonaparte, que en ese momento acababa de fallecer y era extraordinariamente popular en Francia. Clica en la imagen para verlo.
There has been a church in this area since the 13th century when the neighbourhood was known as Ville l'Evêque and its church was Sainte-Marie-Madeleine, situated at the end of the present-day boulevard Malesherbes. In the 18th century a new building was deemed necessary in view of the recent growth in the population of the area. Pierre Constant d'Ivry drew up the plans for the structure. The aim was to produce a church worthy of its site on the monumental perspective of rue Royale and place Louis XV. On Constant's death in 1777 the plans were modified by Guillaume Couture but the Revolution stopped construction work in 1791.
In 1802 the signing of the Concordat restored Catholicism to France, however the newly created parish of the Madeleine was centred not on the unfinished building but on the Church of the Assumption in rue Saint-Honoré. Furthermore, the purpose for the site begun by Couture was no longer clearly understood. Consequently, many alternative schemes were put forward, the one accepted being that by Pierre Vignon. In accordance with an imperial decree of February 1806 Vignon's project was to develop the half-built structure into a Stock Exchange, a commercial tribunal as well as the Bank of France.
However, another imperial decree signed by Napoleon at the Posen Camp on the symbolic date of 2nd December, 1806 cancelled the previous decree and advertised a competition for “the building of a temple to the glory of the French army on the site of the Madeleine”. The building programme included the addition of an inscription in the pediment which read “L'Empereur Napoléon aux soldats de la Grande Armée”, as well as on the inside the addition of marble tablets on which were inscribed the names of all the men (arranged in order of army corps and regiment) who had fought at the battles of Ulm, Austerlitz and Iéna. Those who had died on these battlefields were to have their names inscribed in solid gold tablets – there was also to be another list of all the soldiers, this time listed according to their different home departments, these on tablets of silver. To complete this memorial there were to have been bas-reliefs showing the regiments of the Grand Army, statues of the Maréchals and all their trophies, and the “flags, standards and drums” taken from the enemy.
Eighty artists entered the competition which was won by Etienne de Beaumont. But the Emperor nevertheless decided to award the project to Vignon: “I wanted a temple not a church” was his furious comment on Beaumont's design. Vignon then set about demolishing what had been built by Couture – this took until 1811. When the major work finally started it progressed only very slowly owing to shortage of funds. After the Russian Campaign, Napoleon abandoned completely the idea of a Temple of Glory and began to reconsider the idea for a church. With the fall of the Empire work stopped once again.
It was the Restoration which re-launched the project, giving the construction back to the Catholic church and consecrating it to the memory of the Royal family who climbed the scaffold to their deaths close to that spot during the Revolution. Vignon once again directed the work beginning in 1816, but on his death in 1828 this was taken over by Huvée. In 1842 the church was made once again the principal parish of the 1st arrondissement, and it was consecrated by the Archbishop of Paris in 1845.
A peripteral temple with Corinthian columns, the Madeleine is one of the best examples of Neo-classical architecture in Paris. It marks Napoleon's express wish to bring back the grandeur of antiquity in celebration “of the memory of the immortal glory of the Emperor…and that of his companions in arms”. Although nothing of the original Napoleonic programme for the sculptural decoration of the church remains, nevertheless there are many exceptional works within the church, notably the monumental bronze doors by Triqueti and the “Baptism of Christ” by Rude. Of particular interest is the fresco in the semi-cupola of the apse produced by Ziegler representing the glorious history of Christianity (1835-1837). This work, the only fresco in a Parisian church to include a figure of Napoleon, shows Christ surrounded by Mary Magdelene, the Apostles and the great figures of Christianity, namely Constantine, Clovis, Godefroy de Bouillon, Frederick Barbarossa, Joan of Arc, Dante, Raphael, Pius VII and the Emperor in his coronation robes.
Church of the Madeleine
Category:
Monuments, Parks and Gardens
Region:
Paris and Ile de France
Address:
Place de la Madeleine 14, rue de Surène 75008 Paris, France
Napoléon Bonaparte is never far from the cultural imagination; he is arguably the most famous French person of all time.
Ph: Manjik/Dreamstime
But the one-time Emperor of France is back in the news in a big way, thanks to the release of Ridley Scott’s Napoleon.
Joaquin Phoenix as Emperor Napoléon crowning Vanessa Kirby’s Joséphine, with Lincoln Cathedral, England, playing the part of Notre-Dame.
While the movie was mostly filmed in England, Malta, and Morocco, you can relive Napoléon’s Parisian days the next time you’re in the City of Light by visiting the monuments he built, and other sites of Napoleonic significance …
Where Napoléon Stayed & Played
Born in Corsica, Napoléon was sent to military school in Champagne at the age of eight. Seven years later, in 1784, he was awarded a scholarship to attend the prestigious École Militaire in Paris (below). The academy, which still operates today, is located at the southern end of the Champ de Mars (the field where young cadets once drilled), behind the Eiffel Tower.
The École Militaire, as seen from the Eiffel Tower.
Napoléon’s transfer to Paris involved a two-day journey by boat. He disembarked the Seine at a wharf in the Marais and, as he made his way eastwards to his new school, bought a copy of the novel Gil Blas from a quayside bookseller.
In 1787, after having graduated, a young lieutenant Napoléon found himself back in Paris on leave, and gravitated to the gardens of the Palais-Royal, a notorious party central at the time (above). A cash-strapped Duc d’Orléans Louis-Philippe II had redeveloped his palatial backyard into a pleasure ground in 1784. He had the three wings that frame the northern end of the estate built, renting out the ground spaces as shops and restaurants, while filling the upper floors with dance rooms, gaming dens, billiard halls and brothels. In the middle of the garden enclave there was a circus where acrobatic riders thrilled the crowds, and all sorts of puppet shows and dance performances entertained in the groves of fancifully cut trees. Thousands of Parisians strolled, drank, conversed and flirted in these botanical arcades. The Palais-Royal was a fairground, bazaar and dance party, all in one. It was open day and night, and open to all Parisians — except for police. So you can imagine the air of abandon. Much was lost here. Money — although you could always see the various mortgage agents that had set up shop, or pawnbrokers, to sell your precious gold watch if need be. Virginity, too — a future Emperor Napoléon picked up his first female conquest in this very garden. And lives — Louis Philippe II’s heady vision, inaugurated in 1784, struck him gold, but also eventually cost the duke his head, as he had unwittingly laid the fertile ground for the French Revolution. It was here where courtesans passed as countesses, a precursor of a democratic future France; and where, far from the watchful eyes of the authorities, political discussions could gather momentum, morphing into full-blown movements. The sans-culotte Camille Desmoulins gave a particularly impassioned anti-Royalty speech from atop a table of a café terrace; two days later the Bastille was stormed, and the rest is l’histoire …
Napoléon was often in Paris during the revolutionary years, where the now-Republican networked, wheeled-and-dealed, and generally tried not to lose his head. He was by the old Palais des Tuileries on the day it was stormed by a mob that slaughtered the King’s Swiss guard. Napoléon was savvy in both his political and survival instincts, and ambitious to boot, but surely he can’t have had an inkling that day that this palace (which would be later destroyed by the Paris Commune of 1871) would one day be his imperial home. He did aspire extremely high, however, moving in all the right circles, including A-list parties and salons, where he soon met his fate, in the seductive form of the future Empress Joséphine.
Napoléon’s professional fate was secured on 5th October 1795, when he was asked to deal with thousands of Royalist soldiers who were making their way down Rue Saint-Honoré, en route to the National Convention, where they hoped to retake power. In front of the Saint-Roch Church (above), Napoléon commanded, inspired, and led his troops so successfully (the cannon-ball damage bears witness to this day) that the young Corsican became an overnight hero. He received an instant promotion and a plush new office on Place Vendôme for his efforts.
In March 1796, after Joséphine finally agreed to a lovesick Napoléon’s marriage proposal, the couple wed in a civil ceremony at 3 Rue d’Antin. (The building is no longer occupied by the 2nd arrondissement mairie but a plaque marks the momentous event). When not away on duty, Napoléon lived with Joséphine on Rue Chantereine (which was soon renamed Rue de la Victoire).
Ph: Courtesy of Chteau de Malmaison.
Sadly, her elegant manor house no longer exists, but the lovely country estate just west of Paris that she bought for herself while Napoléon was in Egypt — Chteau de Malmaison — remains in all its neo-Classical glory and is a must-visit for lovers of history, gardens, and architecture.
Napoléon’s Architectural Legacy
A coup d’état of late 1799 — generally considered to mark the end of the French Revolution — saw the overthrow of the Directory leadership of France, and the elevation of Napoléon to the autocratic position of First Consul. The future Emperor (he would crown himself in 1804, in Notre-Dame Cathedral) was now in a position to make his physical mark on his capital.
The neo-Classical trend in architecture had been in favour for a while, but Napoléon, with his passion for arches, columns, and temples, took it to whole new heights, for it represented the fabled grandeur he yearned to project. He wanted Paris to be the new Rome, as befitting a leader who saw himself as a future legend of history. But the aesthetically driven ruler was also engineering-minded, and as such he wanted his city to be cleaner, safer, and more practical. To admire the various changes Napoléon made to Paris, visit the following …
Waterways & Bridges
Napoléon’s utilitarian plan included the construction of new bridges. First up was the Pont des Arts (above), built between 1801 and 1804. The visionary leader demanded it be constructed mostly in iron, which was scarce and expensive at the time, and not considered as chic as limestone, Paris’s classic building block. His vision was perfect; the result was a bridge both modern and elegant, one that has stood the aesthetic test of time. The Pont d’Austerlitz and Pont d’Iéna bridges followed.
Ph: Janis Smits/Dreamstime
As First Consul, Napoléon also ordered the construction of the Canal Saint-Martin (above), Bassin de la Villette (Paris’s largest artificial lake), and Canal de l’Ourcq. Intended to boost the city’s supply of drinking water, this was funded, appropriately enough, by a new tax on wine.
He also cleaned up the banks of the Seine, which were more like strips of beach than true working quays required for the trading needs of a major river city. Up on street level, Napoléon had all roads renumbered, starting from the Seine, with even numbers on the right, odd on the left.
And, to bring drinking water to more Parisians, he decorated those streets with various (often grandiose) fountains, including the Fontaine de la Victoire on Place du Chtelet and the Fontaine du Mars, situated by the now-iconic restaurant of the same name (above).
Rue de Rivoli
As the above examples show, Napoléon’s utilitarian plan could overlap into his ornamental plan for the city. This was also the case with his vision for Rue de Rivoli, for which he turned to his favourite architects, Charles Percier and Pierre-François Fontaine (who had so stunningly redecorated Malmaison in the antique style).
Rue de Rivoli was, originally, a project born of necessity. For one, Napoléon wanted to ease the congested traffic on the nearby Rue Saint-Honoré. But an assassination attempt on him in Rue Saint-Niçaise — one of the narrow medieval streets that once criss-crossed this area, cluttering the approach to the Louvre — also gave Napoléon the impetus for change.
Rue Saint-Niçaise, as seen on the 1730s Turgot Map of Paris.
For a little more back-story … on 24th December 1800, Napoléon was in the Palais des Tuileries, waiting for Joséphine and her daughter Hortense who were primping in preparation for a night out at the opera. Napoléon finally gave in to the whims of feminine grooming, and headed out in the first carriage, leaving Joséphine to continue fussing about the best way to wrap on her cashmere shawl. The sartorial delay most likely saved her and Hortense’s lives, for a Royalist-planted gunpowder-filled wagon exploded on Rue Saint-Niçaise just before the second carriage reached its vicinity. Twenty Parisians died in the attack, which also caused major structural damage of nearby buildings. This gave Napoléon both the motivation and excuse for a rebuild; he wanted to clean up the city’s streets, making them safer, wider, and more modern.
While Napoléon’s nephew Emperor Napoléon III, would end up seeing out this city-wide vision (when he hired Baron Haussmann to make over Paris in the mid-century), Napoléon made a great start with Rue de Rivoli (named for one of his Italian victories), which originally stretched from Place de la Concorde to the Place du Palais-Royal. The extensive scope gave Percier and Fontaine a large canvas on which to apply Classical design principles.
Ph: Engin Korkmaz/Dreamstime.
They placed three levels above an arcaded ground floor (the arcades perhaps being inspired by Bologna, which Napoléon had visited in 1796), and minimal decoration beyond shutters and two lines of balconies. (Percier and Fontaine also placed gates opposite the first section of Rue de Rivoli, to line the northern border of the Jardin des Tuileries; they’re still there today.) The seemingly endless perspective projected that Napoléon-adored grandeur, but at the same time, with the continuous arches and curved attic roof (which was added later), the overall effect is charming rather than severe. Rue de Castiglione and Place des Pyramides were also part of the redevelopment, which would go on to influence Haussmann years later.
Colonne Vendôme
Turn from Rue Rivoli into the aforementioned Rue de Castiglione, and you can’t miss the towering verdigris Colonne Vendôme up ahead. The Trajan’s Column-inspired monument was erected in 1806, to replace Place Vendôme’s equestrian statue of Louis XIV, which had been destroyed during the Revolution, and to commemorate the Battle of Austerlitz. Surmounted by a statue of the Emperor, its spiraling bas-relief plates — melted down from 1200 bronze cannons taken from the Russian and Austrian armies — depict Napoléon’s military campaigns.
Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel
The year 1806 — after France’s success at Austerliz — saw Napoléon at the height of his power. He also commissioned this triumphal arch, originally intended as a gate of honour to the Tuileries Palace, as well as a commemoration of his Grande Armée. Fontaine and Percier took inspiration once more from Rome, specifically from the Arch of Constantine. Atop the lovely arch, with its pink-marble Corinthian columns, they placed the horses of St Mark’s in Venice, which Napoléon had taken as a souvenir of his conquest of that city. The current horses are replicas, after the originals were returned in 1815 (along with much other stolen artwork).
Arc de Triomphe
In the same year, Napoléon commissioned this much larger arch, also in commemoration of his army, on the site of the old city gates. At the time, the Avenue des Champs-Élysées was little more than a country road on the outskirts of Paris. Since the destruction of the Palais des Tuileries, the Arc de Triomphe can be viewed from its little sister arch — they’re two bookends of a world-famous vista. The larger arch’s distance from the palace dictated its majestic size, for it needed to be admired from afar. Sadly, Napoléon didn’t get to see this particular dream materialise; the monument required several decades to reach completion. His ghost, however, would surely be happy that it is now a symbol of French pride and a focus of many civic celebrations, with the Flame of Remembrance burning brightly by the tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
Église de la Madeleine
Napoléon, in 1806, also announced that the part-built church on this site would be redesigned and repurposed as a temple to the glory of the French army. Cue a rectangular Greco-Roman-style temple with a peristyle of Corinthian columns, styled à la Rome’s Pantheon. View it from the start of Rue Royale, then turn around to locate its twin monument on the other side of the river from Place de la Concorde; Napoléon had this Roman portico façade added to an old palace, Palais Bourbon, to reflect and amplify the overall effect of Classical grandeur on Place de la Concorde. That latter building is now the National Assembly, while the Madeleine has been a church since it was, finally, completed in 1842.
Musée du Louvre
The Louvre — the royal court until Louis XIV moved out to Versailles — found new life as a museum in 1793, which is rather astonishing because this was during some of most the tumultuous days of the Revolution. But it makes sense in the context of liberté and égalité, for it was, among other things, a way to share with everyday French citizens something that had, until now, been exclusive to high society.
Napoléon inspecting the works of Percier and Fontaine, painted by Auguste Couder.
Napoléon continued this mission of the Louvre as a place of art and beauty for all — also, he needed somewhere to store all of the art he had stolen on his various campaigns! (Like the horses atop the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel, most would eventually be returned to rightful owners; Veronese’s glorious Wedding Feast at Cana is one that remained at the Louvre.) Napoléon also decreed that it was high time to restore a neglected Louvre, and complete it with a northern wing — which was now an easier job, thanks to the various demolitions that followed the Rue Saint-Niçaise bombing attempt.
Ph: Konstik/Dreamstime
So Percier and Fontaine got to work on beautifying the Louvre in numerous ways, including completing the lovely Cour Carrée. (Much of their interior design no longer exists, but walk through the Salles Percier and Fontaine to admire their gorgeous Empire style.) They were in the midst of constructing the Louvre’s northern wing, which now houses the Musée des Arts Décoratifs (above), when Napoléon was defeated at Waterloo, necessitating a putting-down of tools. The Louvre would finally be completed during the reign of Napoléon’s nephew … although poignantly, the Tuileries Palace, which by now served as the western wing of the complex, burnt down the year after Napoléon III’s abdication.
Also Not-to-Miss for Napoléon Fans …
Debauve & Gallais (30 Rue des Saints-Pères, 75007) is the most historically significant chocolaterie in town, with a classified interior that dates back to its 1817 opening and was designed, no less, by Napoléon’s beloved Percier and Fontaine.
Le Procope (13 Rue de l’Ancienne Comédie, 75006), now a restaurant that serves classic Gallic fare in a glittering olde-worlde setting, was originally — from 1686 — one of Paris’s first cafés, and served coffee along with an inspiring ambience to its philosophically-minded clientele. As the Revolution brewed, the crowds became more politically activist; the now-national motto ‘Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité,’ is said to have been coined here. Napoléon, as an up-and-coming mover and shaker, was by this time a customer, albeit a poor one … One of his famous bicorne hats is on display in a glass cabinet (above), said to have been left here one day by the man himself, in lieu of paying his bill with money.
Le Grand Véfour (17 Rue de Beaujolais, 75001). When Napoléon finally did have money, this jewel box of a restaurant was a favoured dining spot of the imperial couple.
Ph: Mkojot/Dreamstime
While Napoléon’s downfall was brutal, his exile punishing, and his death lonely, his remains made a triumphant return to Paris in 1840. Watched by thousands of Parisians (who had fallen back in love with their former Emperor once more), the horse-drawn hearse made its way from the Arc de Triomphe (which had finally been completed in 1836) down to Place de la Concorde, and then over to Les Invalides, where his tomb still rests under the gilded dome; to visit, buy a ticket to the Musée de l’Armée.
Saint-Mark Golden Basilica Sanctuary, Domes and Horses, in Venice Italy
St. Mark: A Low-rise Basilica
Saint-Mark TreasureCompared to its European contemporaries, the height of St. Mark's Basilica is remarkably modest.
At the same time, we saw that the construction of this third basilica responded more to political than religious considerations and that it had to be a grandiose building capable of impressing the world.
So why did they make it so modest in terms of its height?
There are several reasons for this.
The first is in Venice itself; it should not be forgotten that everything is built on water and that weight is an element that should be taken into account for any construction on stilts, be it a basilica or any Venetian palace.
Indeed, many bell towers in Venice are close to 90 metres in height, but, as is known, many of them have collapsed, starting with that of Saint Mark, whose collapse of 1902 was not the first.
Saint-Mark Apse's MosaicsThe second reason is that at that time, the current Piazza, between the Doge's Palace and the Marciana Library, did not exist.
It was still a dock that gave directly into the lagoon and stopped on the southern side of St. Mark's Basilica.
In front of the basilica, the dock ended into a canal that met the Rio di Palazzo.
All this meant that the southern part and south-eastern part of the basilica were fully reflected in the water, which “grew” the perspective.
Later, during the 12th century, the dock and canal were filled, questioning the basilica's “visual” appearance by changing its primitive spatial relationship.
The Domes of St. Mark's Basilica
Until the beginning of the 13th century, the basilica was significantly lower, outwardly speaking, than today.
Timber Structures of the cupolasThis interior-outer distinction is essential in the sense that if the domes of St. Mark's Basilica have actually been raised, only the outer "visible" part of it is heightened, without modifying the arches of the internal cupolas.
It simply means that the outer cupolas, made of a wooden frame and lead plates to cover it, just contain emptiness and are standing well above the inner cupolas of the basilica.
By this visual artifice, they were able to fill the lack of “visual” height, born after the disappearance of the canal and the dock and this by artificially heightening the cupolas of the basilica of Saint Mark.
It is true that when you are on St. Mark's Square, at the other end of it, the basilica of St. Mark seems very small in proportion to the square.
Saint-Mark Apse's MosaicsThe church is, in fact, on the outside, significantly wider than tall, which amplifies this visual effect of small size.
And this is perhaps one of the most beautiful surprises St. Mark's Basilica can offer to its visitors.
Crossing its threshold, you expect to enter a “small” church and barely have you entered that you are genuinely grasped by the imposing height of its domes.
Indeed, once inside St. Mark's Basilica, it is suddenly you who feel small.
Since then, it seems no longer so small, and, like many things in Venice, we have to know how to approach them without a priori to be able to see them better and appreciate them.
So let's forget about the lengths, widths and angles! Beauty is not to be measured!
The Horses of St. Mark Basilica: The Quadriga
Saint-Mark Basilica's HorsesThe horses of St. Mark appeared long after the third construction of St. Mark's Basilica.
They were a war trophy stolen in 1204 by the Venetians in Constantinople.
The Doge Enrico Dandolo sent them to Venice at the time of the fourth crusade, which had seen the Crusaders' capture of Constantinople, thanks to the help of the Venetians.
These horses belonged to an imperial quadriga coming from the island of Chios.
Saint-Mark's HorsesThey were then sent to Constantinople, where they were positioned on the high towers of the hippodrome.
On their origin, opinions diverge; some historians consider the Corinthian source, from the 4th or 3rd century BC.
Others say that they were made by Lysippos of Sicyon, a Greek sculptor and bronzer, for Alexander the Great, and that Tiridates I, king of Armenia, owned them and then offered them to Nero, in exchange for the crown he received from his hands.
After this gift, they would have been placed at the four corners of the colossal statue of Nero in Rome.
They were then transported by Emperor Constantine to Byzantium.
When they arrived in Venice, they were first stored at the Arsenal before being installed at the top of the basilica to reinforce its symbolic power.
“Before St. Mark still glow his steeds of brass, Their gilded collars glittering in the sun; But is not Doria's menace come to pass? Are they not bridled !” Lord Byron - Childe Harold Canto IV-XIII
To understand this allusion to Doria, it is worth knowing that the horses of St. Mark had become one of the symbols of Venetian power.
Pietro Doria, the Genoese admiral, promised in 1378 to the Venetians, during the war between Genoa and Venice, that after the Genoese capture of the island close to Chioggia, he would bridle the horses of Venice. What he did not succeed in doing!
Byron's poem was written after the fall of Venice and its occupation by Austrian troops.
“I was looking closely at the four bronze horses placed above the arcades of St. Mark's Church.
What a beautiful hitch!
I would have liked to hear him judge by a real horse connoisseur.
Seen on the terrace that supports these horses, they seem very heavy, but when you look at them from below, that is, from St. Mark's Square, they look light as deer.“ Goethe Memoirs - October 8 1786
These horses are indeed made to be watched from St. Mark's Square, and it is no wonder that Schopenhauer did not appreciate them at their fair value when he had the opportunity to see them in Paris, out of their context, and at a wrong level:
“It is in Paris, in the Tuileries Garden that in front of the castle, there are the famous four horses that Bonaparte brought back from Venice and which have always accompanied the conquerors.
But I don't find them as extraordinary as I imagined.“ Schopenhauer
They had indeed been stolen by Napoleon Bonaparte in Venice on December 7, 1797 and were not returned until 1815, where they return to their place on the Basilica Terrace.
They left their place twice again, but this time to protect them, during the first and last world war.
Finally, the horses you see today on the basilica are copies; the real horses, even more beautiful, are inside the church, in the museum of St. Mark's Basilica, sheltered from the bad weather.
Mosaics of St. Mark's Basilica in Venice
One of the most beautiful things that St. Mark's Basilica can offer to its visitors is undoubtedly its mosaics, both outside and inside it.
Saint-Mark Apse's MosaicsThey were initially highly Byzantine-inspired, and it is even believed that some Byzantine artists would have come to Venice especially to make them.
However, we do not have proof of this, especially since most of the original mosaics of the basilica have been replaced.
Their maintenance was indeed delicate, and most of the original mosaics deteriorated quickly, resulting in near-constant restorations.
Thus, rather than restoring existing mosaics, the Venetians, as they went on, simply replaced them with new mosaics, representing scenes that often correspond more to the moment's artistic tastes and religious themes.
The only original mosaic on St. Mark's facade represents the translation of the remains of Saint Mark on a background that represents the basilica around 1250.
Tema anterior
Ph: Manjik/Dreamstime
Joaquin Phoenix as Emperor Napoléon crowning Vanessa Kirby’s Joséphine, with Lincoln Cathedral, England, playing the part of Notre-Dame.
The École Militaire, as seen from the Eiffel Tower.
Ph: Courtesy of Chteau de Malmaison.
Ph: Janis Smits/Dreamstime
Rue Saint-Niçaise, as seen on the 1730s Turgot Map of Paris.
Ph: Engin Korkmaz/Dreamstime.
Napoléon inspecting the works of Percier and Fontaine, painted by Auguste Couder.
Ph: Konstik/Dreamstime
Ph: Mkojot/Dreamstime
