Rue de Rivoli, Arc de Triomphe, Madeleine...Le Paris de Napoléon
Mercredi 5 mai 2021, cela fera 200 ans que Napoléon est mort. La rue de Rivoli, l'Arc de Triomphe de l'Etoile, la Madeleine, entre autres, témoignent de son action à Paris.
Paris ne serait pas la ville qu’elle est si Napoléon, dont c’est le bicentenaire de la mort le 5 mai 2021, n’y avait pas imprimé sa marque. De la rue de Rivoli à l’Arc de Triomphe, en passant par les canaux ou la colonne Vendôme, retour sur ces lieux de la capitale où plane l’ombre de l’Empereur.
Lorsque l’on évoque la rue de Rivoli, on pense immédiatement à Haussmann. Avec justesse puisque l’on doit au baron les parties centrale et orientale afin de la connecter à la rue Saint-Antoine et de créer ainsi un grand axe est-ouest dans le centre de Paris. Mais avant, la partie occidentale de la rue (qui correspond à peu près à la partie aux arcades) a été percée sous le Premier Empire.
S’inspirant d’un projet révolutionnaire de 1793, Napoléon, devenu Premier Consul, fit édicter le 17 vendémiaire an X (9 octobre 1801) un décret ordonnant une série de percements entre le jardin des Tuileries, la place Vendôme, la rue Saint-Honoré et la rue Saint-Florentin, sur les jardins des couvents de l’Assomption, des Capucines et des Feuillants.
La nouvelle rue ainsi tracée prit le nom de Rivoli en souvenir de la plus célèbre bataille de la Première campagne d’Italie. Elle permit également d’ouvrir deux voies perpendiculaires, les rues de Castiglione et des Pyramides.
Par un décret du 15 mars 1801, Bonaparte décida la construction d’un pont reliant le Louvre et le collège des Quatre-Nations aujourd’hui l’Institut. Entre 1801 et 1804, une passerelle de neuf arches en fonte réservée aux piétons est construite à l’emplacement de l’actuel pont des Arts : c’est le premier pont métallique de Paris.
Pas forcément au goût de Napoléon : « Cela n’a aucune apparence de solidité ; ce pont n’a rien de grandiose ; je conçois qu’en Angleterre, où la pierre est rare, on emploie le fer pour des arcs de grande dimension ; mais en France, où tout abonde… » Le pont s’effondre en 1979 avant d’être remonté en 1992.
Si Louis XV avait posé la première pierre de l’édifice en 1763, la Révolution française stoppa les travaux alors que les fûts des colonnes de la Madeleine s’élevaient jusqu’à la hauteur des chapiteaux.
Finalement, le 2 décembre 1806, au camp de Poznań en Pologne, l’Empereur Napoléon Ier signait un décret pour l’édification d’un temple à la gloire des Armées françaises : « le Monument dont l’Empereur vous appelle aujourd’hui à tracer le projet sera le plus auguste, le plus imposant de tous ceux que sa vaste imagination a conçus et que son activité prodigieuse sait faire exécuter. C’est la récompense que le vainqueur des Rois et des Peuples, le fondateur des empires, décerne à son armée victorieuse sous ses ordres et par son génie. La postérité dira : il fit des héros et sut récompenser l’héroïsme ».
Après la campagne de Russie de 1812, Napoléon renonça au temple de la Gloire, et revint au projet primitif d’une église. Il ne verra jamais le btiment achevé en 1842.
Napoléon Ier, au lendemain de la bataille d’Austerlitz, déclare aux soldats français : « Vous ne rentrerez dans vos foyers que sous des arcs de triomphe», faisant ainsi référence aux arcs de triomphe érigés sous l’Empire romain afin de commémorer un général vainqueur défilant à la tête de ses troupes. Par un décret impérial daté du 18 février 1806, il ordonne la construction de cet arc de triomphe consacré à perpétuer le souvenir des victoires des armées françaises.
Il pense à un emplacement près de la Bastille avant d’opter pour la place de l’Etoile. La première pierre est posée en 15 août 1806 et le monument sera inauguré trente ans plus tard. On y retrouve notamment gravées les noms des grandes batailles de la Révolution et de l’Empire.
Un autre arc aux Tuileries
Napoléon aura initié deux arcs. Le premier est construit sur la place du Carrousel. Plus petit que les autres avec ses 14,6 mètres. Ordonné en 1806 comme son cousin du rond-point de l’Étoile, il est achevé en 1808. À cette époque, il était dans la cour du palais des Tuileries, qui sera détruit par un incendie lors de La Commune de Paris, en 1871, et rasé en 1883. Aujourd’hui, il est dans la perspective unissant le Louvre, le jardin des Tuileries et les Champs-Élysées.
En 1808, Napoléon Ier décida de faire construire un édifice particulier pour abriter la Bourse de Paris contrainte de déménager à plusieurs reprises. L’Empereur confie la construction de l’édifice à l’architecte Alexandre-Théodore Brongniart.
Il souhaite ainsi voir s’élever un emblème de la puissance et de l’accomplissement auxquels la France est parvenue. Ni Brongniart ni l’Empereur ne verront l’édifice achevé en 1825.
Erigée sur ordre de Napoléon Ier de 1806 à 1810 pour commémorer la bataille d’Austerlitz, celle que l’on nomme la colonne Vendôme sur la place éponyme a été ensuite détruite lors de la Commune de Paris en 1871, avant d’être reconstruite sous sa forme actuelle. Au fil des années, elle reçoit les noms de colonne d’Austerlitz, puis colonne de la Victoire avant de devenir colonne de la Grande Armée.
Elle culmine à 44,3 mètres et mesure environ 3,60 mètres de diamètre moyen. Réalisée de pierres parées de bronze, elle est posée sur un socle et surmontée par une statue de Napoléon Ier.
Cette fontaine fut commandée en 1806 par Napoléon Ier à Emmanuel Crétet son ministre de l’intérieur, pour commémorer ses victoires (Lodi, Arcole, Rivoli, Pyramides, Mont Thabor, Marengo, Austerlitz, Ulm, Iena, Eylau, Dantzig, Friedland) et pour délivrer de l’eau potable gratuite aux Parisiens.
Terminée en 1808, elle a la forme d’une colonne ornée au sommet de feuilles de palmiers, d’où son nom. Son fût porte une liste des victoires de Napoléon en Italie, en Égypte et dans d’autres pays.
Sous le Second Empire, la place du Chtelet fut transformée et agrandie, et en 1858 le monument entier fut déplacé de 12 mètres vers l’Ouest, pour être placé au centre de la nouvelle place
Les canaux : Pour acheminer l’eau dans Paris et faciliter le transport de marchandises et de personnes, Napoléon ordonne la construction des canaux de l’Ourcq, de Saint-Martin et de Saint-Denis. Le réseau est progressivement inauguré au cours des années 1820.
Les numéros des immeubles : C’est un décret de 1805 qui définit le système de numérotation actuel. La disposition des numéros est déterminée par la situation de la rue relativement à la Seine.
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French President Emmanuel Macron, center, poses with President-elect Donald Trump, left, and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the Elysee Palace, Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024 in Paris. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)
New International Version Meanwhile a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was a learned man, with a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures.
New Living Translation Meanwhile, a Jew named Apollos, an eloquent speaker who knew the Scriptures well, had arrived in Ephesus from Alexandria in Egypt.
English Standard Version Now a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was an eloquent man, competent in the Scriptures.
Berean Standard Bible Meanwhile a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was an eloquent man, well versed in the Scriptures.
Berean Literal Bible Now a certain Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus, being an eloquent man, mighty in the Scriptures.
King James Bible And a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man, and mighty in the scriptures, came to Ephesus.
New King James Version Now a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man and mighty in the Scriptures, came to Ephesus.
New American Standard Bible Now a Jew named Apollos, an Alexandrian by birth, an eloquent man, came to Ephesus; and he was proficient in the Scriptures.
NASB 1995 Now a Jew named Apollos, an Alexandrian by birth, an eloquent man, came to Ephesus; and he was mighty in the Scriptures.
NASB 1977 Now a certain Jew named Apollos, an Alexandrian by birth, an eloquent man, came to Ephesus; and he was mighty in the Scriptures.
Legacy Standard Bible Now a Jew named Apollos, an Alexandrian by birth, an eloquent man, arrived at Ephesus; and he was mighty in the Scriptures.
Amplified Bible Now a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was an eloquent and cultured man, and well versed in the [Hebrew] Scriptures.
Christian Standard Bible Now a Jew named Apollos, a native Alexandrian, an eloquent man who was competent in the use of the Scriptures, arrived in Ephesus.
Holman Christian Standard Bible A Jew named Apollos, a native Alexandrian, an eloquent man who was powerful in the use of the Scriptures, arrived in Ephesus.
American Standard Version Now a certain Jew named Apollos, an Alexandrian by race, an eloquent man, came to Ephesus; and he was mighty in the scriptures.
Contemporary English Version A Jewish man named Apollos came to Ephesus. Apollos had been born in the city of Alexandria. He was a very good speaker and knew a lot about the Scriptures.
English Revised Version Now a certain Jew named Apollos, an Alexandrian by race, a learned man, came to Ephesus; and he was mighty in the scriptures.
GOD'S WORD® Translation A Jew named Apollos, who had been born in Alexandria, arrived in the city of Ephesus. He was an eloquent speaker and knew how to use the Scriptures in a powerful way.
Good News Translation At that time a Jew named Apollos, who had been born in Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was an eloquent speaker and had a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures.
International Standard Version Meanwhile, a Jew named Apollos arrived in Ephesus. He was a native of Alexandria, an eloquent man, and well versed in the Scriptures.
Majority Standard Bible Meanwhile a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was an eloquent man, well versed in the Scriptures.
NET Bible Now a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, arrived in Ephesus. He was an eloquent speaker, well-versed in the scriptures.
New Heart English Bible Now a certain Jew named Apollos, an Alexandrian by race, an eloquent man, came to Ephesus. He was mighty in the Scriptures.
Webster's Bible Translation And a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man, and mighty in the scriptures, came to Ephesus.
Weymouth New Testament Meanwhile a Jew named Apollos came to Ephesus. He was a native of Alexandria, a man of great learning and well versed in the Scriptures.
World English Bible Now a certain Jew named Apollos, an Alexandrian by race, an eloquent man, came to Ephesus. He was mighty in the Scriptures.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version And a certain Jew, Apollos by name, an Alexandrian by birth, a man of eloquence, being mighty in the Writings, came to Ephesus;
Berean Literal Bible Now a certain Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus, being an eloquent man, mighty in the Scriptures.
Young's Literal Translation And a certain Jew, Apollos by name, an Alexandrian by birth, a man of eloquence, being mighty in the Writings, came to Ephesus,
Smith's Literal Translation And a certain Jew, Apollos by name, an Alexandrian by birth, an eloquent man, arrived at Ephesus, being able in the writings.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible Now a certain Jew, named Apollo, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man, came to Ephesus, one mighty in the scriptures.
Catholic Public Domain Version Now a certain Jew named Apollo, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man who was powerful with the Scriptures, arrived at Ephesus.
New American Bible A Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, an eloquent speaker, arrived in Ephesus. He was an authority on the scriptures.
New Revised Standard Version Now there came to Ephesus a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria. He was an eloquent man, well-versed in the scriptures.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible And a certain Jew named A-pol’los, a native of Al-ex-an’dri-a, an eloquent man and well versed in the scriptures, came to Eph'esus.
Aramaic Bible in Plain English One man, a Jew whose name was Apollo, a native of Alexandria and instructed in the word, was familiar with the Scriptures and he came to Ephesaus.
NT Translations
Anderson New Testament And a certain Jew, named Apollos, an Alexandrian by birth, an eloquent man, and mighty in the Scriptures, came to Ephesus.
Godbey New Testament And a certain Jew, Apollos by name, an Alexandrian by race, an eloquent man, came into Ephesus, being mighty in the scriptures.
Haweis New Testament Now a certain Jew named Apollos, an Alexandrian by birth, a man of eloquence, who was powerful in the Scriptures, had come to Ephesus.
Mace New Testament In the mean time a Jew, nam'd Apollos, born at Alexandria, a man of letters, and vers'd in the scriptures, arriv'd at Ephesus.
Weymouth New Testament Meanwhile a Jew named Apollos came to Ephesus. He was a native of Alexandria, a man of great learning and well versed in the Scriptures.
Worrell New Testament Now a certain Jew, Apollos by name, an Alexandrian by birth, a learned man, came down to Ephesus; and he was mighty in the Scriptures.
Worsley New Testament Now there came to Ephesus a certain Jew named Apollos, an Alexandrian by birth, an eloquent man, and mighty in the scriptures.
“’Out Of The Past' was the name of the store, and its products consisted of memories: what was prosaic and even vulgar to one generation had been transmuted by the mere passing of years to a status at once magical and also camp.”
This wonderful time-travel film, written and directed by Woody Allen was a virtual who’s who. Not only in the actors, but also in the artistic characters of the past. Gil Pender (Owen Wilson) is engaged to Inez (Rachel McAdams). This is the third time-travel story I have blogged about staring Rachel McAdams, but the first time this adorable actress was not a likable character
Gil was a failed Hollywood scriptwriter who was working on his novel. He was a dreamer and found inspiration in Paris, especially in the rain. Inez did not relate to this and would never let herself get wet or live in the French city. Gil believed in soulmates. Inez thought it was a ridiculous notion. She did not respect anything Gil liked. In fact, she was more taken with her friend, Paul (Michael Sheen), who is also visiting along with his wife Carol (Nina Arianda). Paul is a pretentious snob, know-it-all. One night, Gil decides he’s had enough of hanging around with Inez’s friends and decides to walk back to his hotel. He gets lost on the streets of Paris and sits down on some steps. The bells of a clock ring out midnight. Suddenly a vintage 1920’s Peugeot taxi pulls up and the people inside beckon him to go with them to a party.
He ends up at a party in 1920’s Paris where he meets notable American novelists, Zelda (Alison Pill) and F. Scott Fitzgerald (Tom Hiddleston). The Fitzgeralds are friendly and partiers, especially Zelda.
Gil is also taken by the piano player/singer who he comes to find out is none other than Cole Porter (Yves Heck) doing his famous song, Let’s Do it.
“Birds do it, bees do it Even educated fleas do it Let's do it, let's fall in love”
“Romantic sponges, they say, do it Oysters, down in oyster bay, do it Let's do it, let's fall in love”
To make a long, great story short, Gil ends up meeting many famous people who found it vogue to hone their crafts in the Parisian city in the Roaring Twenties. He asks Ernest Hemingway (Corey Stoll) to review his book, which is refused, so Hemingway offers to bring it to Gertrude Stein (Kathy Bates) who reads it and likes it. There, Gil meets Pablo Picasso (Marcial Di Fonzo Bo) and his mistress, Adriana (Marion Cotillard). Gil starts to fall for Adriana and continues to travel back to the ‘20s to date her.
Meanwhile, Gil is still engaged to Inez in the present day, who is more and more infatuated with Paul. In one scene she shushes Gil so that Paul can speak. Hemingway makes Gil wonder why he is even still engaged to Inez. Another aspect of Gil’s life Inez could not relate to was his love of antiques and nostalgia. On one trip with Inez and her friends, Gil walks over to a French female vendor playing Cole Porter on an antique Gramophone. Her name was Gabrielle (Léa Seydoux) He was impressed with her knowledge of things and music of the past.
Gil continues his Midnight strolls to the 1920s and dating Adriana. Gil believes this is the Golden Era, but Adriana, who lives in it believes the 1890s was the Golden Era. This film has time-travel within time-travel as a horse-drawn buggy comes along and transports them to the Gay Nineties. They go to the Moulin Rouge where they meet Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Paul Gauguin, and Edgar Degas. (Vincent Menjou Cortes, Olivier Rabourdin, and François Rostain) However, these three believe the Renaissance era was the Golden Age. Gil ends up having an epiphany and realizes that despite the allure of nostalgia, any time can eventually become a dull "present", so it's best to embrace your actual present. Adriana however, elects to stay in the 1890s, and they part ways.
Other notable people Gil meets:
Josephine Baker (Sonia Rolland) Salvador Dalí (Adrien Brody) T. S. Eliot (David Lowe) Henri Matisse (Yves-Antoine Spoto) Leo Stein (Laurent Claret)
Spoiler:
Back in the present day, Inez admits to Gil that she slept with Paul, but dismisses it as meaningless. Gil leaves her and stays in Paris.
One night as Gil is walking around, he runs into Gabrielle, the antique vendor. She tells Gil she was thinking about him when a new set of Cole Porter records came in. It starts to rain and Gil acts concerned for her. But she tells him, it’s ok, she likes the rain. He asks to walk her home. It appeared Gabrielle was Gil’s true soulmate.
This is a wonderful film for those who love time-travel, France, classic literary figures, and artists. The casting was brilliant, especially of the historical figures.
La batalla de las Pirámides tuvo lugar el 21 de julio de 1798 entre el ejército francés en Egipto bajo las órdenes de Napoleón Bonaparte y las fuerzas locales mamelucas.
En julio de 1798, Napoleón iba dirección El Cairo, después de invadir y capturar Alejandría. En el camino se encontró a dos fuerzas de mamelucos a 15 kilómetros de las pirámides, y a solo 6 de El Cairo. Los mamelucos estaban comandados por Murad Bey e Ibrahim Bey y tenían una poderosa caballería. Los mamelucos, a pesar de ser superiores en número, estaban equipados con una tecnología primitiva, tan solo tenían espadas, arcos y flechas; además, sus fuerzas quedaron divididas por el Nilo, con Murad atrincherado en Embabeh e Ibrahim a campo abierto.
Napoleón se dio cuenta de que la única tropa egipcia de cierto valor era la caballería. Él tenía poca caballería a su cargo y era superado en número por el doble o el triple. Se vio pues forzado a ir a la defensiva, y formó su ejército en cuadrados huecos con artillería, caballería y equipajes en el centro de cada uno, dispersando con fuego de artillería de apoyo el ataque de la caballería mameluca, que intentaba aprovechar los espacios entre los cuadros franceses. Entonces atacó el campamento egipcio de Embebeh, provocando la huida del ejército egipcio.
Tras la batalla, Francia obtuvo El Cairo y el bajo Egipto. Después de oír las noticias de la derrota de su legendaria caballería, el ejército mameluco de El Cairo se dispersó a Siria para reorganizarse. La batalla también puso fin a 700 años de mandato mameluco en Egipto. A pesar de este gran comienzo, la victoria del almirante Horatio Nelson diez días después en la batalla del Nilo acabó con las esperanzas de Bonaparte de conquistar Oriente Medio.
Tellingly the LHC suns are aligned with the (original/#1) Earth's equinoctial axis.
So the context is right and the stage is set…
Are our 3 Suns a perfect replica of Orion's Belt, and through which the Giza pyramids? One way to find out:
They, are, in fact, identical!
The LHC is… an "Orion Stargate".
Apollo
Mankind set foot on the Moon for the first time on July 20th, 1969 as NASA's Apollo 11 mission successfully landed in the Sea of Tranquility, allowing the first astronaut Neil Armstrong to take his "one small step for (a) man, giant leap for mankind".
The Moon has been shown to be a major component of the LHC secret design and here it is confirmed further by the fact that the Apollo program also intelligently interacts with the LHC…
The Apollo Earth-Moon connection echoes the LHC-SPS relationship (= Earth-Moon ratio)
CERN/LHC is partially situated in the French town Saint-Genus-Pouilly; the name "Pouilly" apparently comes from the Latin "Appolliacum"; in Roman times there was a temple dedicated to Apollo in the area (link 1, link 2)
"Apollo" is also said to mean "to destroy" or "the destroyer" (= Apollyon) and right at CERN/LHC infamously stands a statue of Shiva, a Hindu deity known as "the Destroyer"
Now let's take a look at the Apollo program insignia…
The Orion constellation is centrally depicted in the middle of the insignia, resonating with the LHC "Orion stargate" code
Orion represents Osiris the god of the underworld; the name "Apollo" is associated with a "bottomless pit" (underworld) via Apollyon/Abaddon in the Book of Revelation 9:11
Revelation 9:11 And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.
After finding this many correlations, our next logical step is to check for any visual overlay interaction between the Apollo program insignia, which is circular, and the LHC/solar system/Orion Belt Stars diagram we've been working with.
For starters, here is a straightforward overlay arrangement:
Not much happening… except the Moon and the SPS actually appear identical in size. We can check this by putting the two together…
As you can see, they are the exact same size. The SPS representing the Moon matching the size of the Moon… making perfect sense.
But why did we have to move the Apollo insignia for this? It's curious and seems a bit clumsy because the rearrangement didn't result in any other additional alignments. We need to investigate this a little further…
Keeping the Moon snugly inside the SPS, let us now rotate the insignia 180 degrees, i.e. we turn it upside down, like this:
There it is, an unmistakable alignment! The flat feet of the big letter "A" now rest precisely on the solar system's equinoctial axis (red)!
At this point we have little reason to doubt we are dealing with a real hidden design here and not some happy coincidence. The following further confirms the reality of what we are uncovering…
Apollo 11 had its own insignia…
Let's bring together the two insignias (they are sized so that the inner edges of the circles match perfectly):
It's unmistakable: The same letter "A" stands tall like a pyramid right on the surface of the Moon!
The "pyramid" allusion here is no accident either.
There is this…
And there is also the Orion Correlation Theory: The Apollo insignia displays Orion and the Correlation Theory identifies Orion with the pyramids.
The Orion Correlation Theory emerged in the 1990s. The Apollo program was active back in the 1960s…
Somebody knew back then.
Both the Apollo program and CERN's LHC were enormous undertakings carried out by mankind to boldly go where no man has gone before. And we now see that they mysteriously interact with each other, whispering "Orion Stargate".
In Closing
So there you have it. I am confident I have provided enough compelling evidence to establish that CERN's Large Hadron Collider has a secret side that appears to be fully celestial in nature, ultimately pointing its ethereal finger to the Moon and Orion, as well as Mars.
Is the LHC a "Gate of the God", a "Tower of Babel", symbolically or literally connecting "heaven and earth"? Is it an "Orion Stargate" blueprint that can, if sufficiently decode, help us become a more inter-dimensional civilization?
And just who is behind the LHC secret design?
I don't have all the answers. It's all still very mysterious. The new revelations in this article, however, should serve as a major breakthrough paving the way for further investigation that will leads us to more stunning discoveries and more concrete answers to the big questions.
As always, if you are intrigued and would like to keep up with the latest, cutting-edge multicontextual discoveries (remember, a lot of the findings in this article are from my investigation all the way back in 2008-2010), consider joining STRUG (Super Torch Ritual Underground, our subscriber section), where information moves faster than the speed of light. Please also help us out by spreading the word. (If this article is met with silence, I might stop posting major public/free/Etemenanki articles.)
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.
Tradition tells us that amongst the treasures of the Church entrusted to St. Lawrence was the Holy Grail, the chalice used by Our Lord at the Last Supper.
Valencia’s sacred chalice
To protect this precious relic from the prefect of Rome, St. Lawrence entrusted it to a friend, the Spanish soldier Proselius, whom he knew would travel back to Huesca and asked him to give it to his parents for safe keeping.
In turn, St. Lawrence’s family sent the Holy Chalice to the monastery of San Juan de la Peña (north of Huesca) for preservation and veneration. In 1399, the relic was handed over to the King of Aragon, Martin “The Human” who kept it in the Royal Palace of Zaragoza and then in the Royal Palace of Barcelona in 1410 when he died.
Towards 1424, his successor King Alfonso the Magnanimous kept it in the Valencia Palace. Because of his stay in Naples, it was given with the rest of the royal relics to the Valencia Cathedral in 1437.
Since the 15th century, the Holy Grail has been kept and venerated in the Cathedral of Valencia and it was carried during the procession of Holy Thursday up to the 18th century. During the Napoleonic Wars, between 1809 and 1813, the chalice was taken to Alicante, Ibiza and Palma de Mallorca, escaping from Napoleonic invaders. During the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939), it was hidden in the city of Carlet, south of Valencia.
Today, traditions tell us the Holy Grail is located and venerated in a special chapel in the cathedral of Valencia in Spain.’
***
ST LAWRENCE
FEAST DAY 10th AUGUST
The authors of The Bad Catholics Guide to Good Living (1) tell us, of St Lawrence:
“This early Church administrator is known both for his courage and his snarky sense of humour. When the increasingly intolerant Roman government demanded that Lawrence collect all the supposed wealth of the persecuted underground Church, St Lawrence distributed all the wealth to the poor, then gathered the widows, orphans, beggars, cripples and lepers who lived on Catholic charity and presented them to the emperor saying: “Here are the treasures of the Church.”
Charmed by his wit, Valerian condemned Lawrence to be slowly, agonisingly burned to death over a grill.
As the Roman guards stoked the fires, Lawrence displayed the power of grace, and his irresistible comic timing, by telling the Romans: “I am done on this side, you may turn me over.”
Infuriated, they did just that (neglecting to baste).
As he breathed his last, Lawrence whispered: “I am done, now you may eat.”
The history above is recorded by St Ambrose – St Lawrence was one of the seven deacons of Rome under Pope Sixtus II, who was also martyred a few days prior to the martyrdom of St Lawrence. Both of these illustrious names form part of the Invocation of the Saints in the Canon of the Mass as Martyrs of the early Church, now in heaven, together with the other six deacons and Pope St. Sixtus II who had preceded him in martyrdom.
Several senators who were present at his death were so powerfully moved by his heroic fortitude and piety that they became Christians on the spot.
These noblemen took the martyr’s body and gave it an honorable burial in the Veran field, near the road to Tivoli, on the 10th of August, 258.
Within 50 years of his martyrdom, the Christian Emperor Constantine had a patriarchal church built over his tomb, the site now known as the Basilica of St. Lawrence-Outside-the-Walls, (San Lorenzo Fuori Le Mura), where his relics can be venerated today.
The Catholic Church has declared him to be the Patron Saint of chefs, and his feast day is traditionally celebrated by a grill or a barbecue.
(1) John Zmirak & Denise Matychowiak, Crossroad, New York, (2005), at p. 119.
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