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General: PLACE DE LA CONCORDE LUXOR MADELEINE PALAIS BOURBON LOUVRE DA VINCI PARIS
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https://frenchmoments.eu/place-de-la-concorde-paris/
LAST UPDATED: 29 MAY 2024
The majestic Place de la Concorde played an essential part in French history. On many occasions, the square has been chosen for happy or sad national gatherings. One of the many prestigious stages of the Historical Axis, the square features a vast and elegant neo-classical ensemble from the 18th century. It connects the Tuileries Garden to the Champs-Elysées and the Madeleine to Palais Bourbon.
The magnificence of place de la Concorde
The Place de la Concorde plays a significant symbolic part along the Historical Axis. This magnificent vista runs through some of Paris’ most celebrated monuments and squares:
 Fountain of the Rivers on Place de la Concorde © French Moments
The square takes the form of an octagon measuring 359 by 212 metres. The River Seine borders it to the South, and classical-style buildings to the North. The Egyptian obelisk stands at the centre of the square, flanked by two massive fountains.
The turbulent history of the square
In 1753 it was decided that the site should be designed as a square. This decision was taken during the reign of King Louis XV. At that time, many French cities had started or completed prestigious squares. They were commonly called “Place Royale” to the glory of the King: Montpellier, Nantes, Metz, Dijon or Bordeaux.
For instance, in the then-independent Duchy of Lorraine, the King’s father-in-law, Stanislas Leszczyński, commissioned the beautiful Place Stanislas in Nancy, which was well underway by 1753.
 Place Stanislas, a royal square in Nancy built in 1753-1755 © French Moments
A grand square dedicated to Louis XV
Gabriel, the King’s architect, was tasked with creating a magnificent square along the Historical Axis. It would stage an equestrian statue of Louis XV in the centre. The two monumental pavilions bordering the square’s northern side and divided by the Rue Royale were built in the Louis XV style: the Hôtel Crillon and the Hôtel de la Marine.
 Plan of Gabriel for the Louis XV Square © French Moments
The tragic event of 30 May 1770
Misfortune struck the square on the occasion of the marriage of Dauphin Louis and Austrian archduchess Marie-Antoinette. On the 30th May 1770, people assembled for a celebration with much pomp and ceremony. A beautiful firework display was planned. However, following the accidental fall of a rocket, the crowd was panic-stricken, and 133 people were killed, trampled and choked.
During the Reign of Terror
But the worst was yet to come 20 years later with the uprising of the Revolution. Originally called ‘Place Louis XV’, the square was renamed in 1792 as ‘Place de la Révolution’. It became the stage for horrendous public executions by the guillotine.
During the Reign of Terror, the King, Queen Marie-Antoinette, and more than 1,100 victims were beheaded in less than two and a half years.
 Execution of Louis XVI on Place de la Concorde
On 21st January 1793, Louis XVI was guillotined at the exact position of the statue of Brest, at the North-West angle.
 The monument of Brest, the spot where the guillotine was placed for Louis XVI’s execution © French Moments
From the 13th of May 1793, the “National Razor” was moved across the square near the railings of the Tuileries Gardens. Many more victims were beheaded: Marie-Antoinette (16th October), Madame du Barry, Danton, Madame Roland and Robespierre.
Place de la Concorde
Following those dreadful events of the Reign of Terror, the Directorate changed the square’s name in 1795 to one of reconciliation and hope: Place de la Concorde.
The Monuments of French cities
In the 1830s, architect Jacques Ignace Hittorff transformed the square by adding statues and fountains that can be seen today.
At each corner of the octagon formed by the Place, he erected eight stone monuments representing the French cities of:
 The Monument of Bordeaux © French Moments
The fountains
Hittorff also added two monumental fountains inspired by those in Piazza Navona in Rome:
- the Maritime Fountain (to the South, portraying the maritime spirit of France) and,
- the Fountain of the Rivers (to the North, representing the Rhône River and the Rhine River).
 Fountain of the Rivers © French Moments
The Luxor Obelisk, Paris’ oldest monument
 Place de la Concorde © French Moments
The Obelisk, ideally placed in the middle of the Place de la Concorde, is part of the strange geometrical layouts and alignments along the Historical Axis, evoking the symbols of Ancient Egypt.
Napoleon’s campaign to Egypt
To understand the reasoning that led the French to develop such admiration for Egyptology, let’s go back to Napoleon Bonaparte’s campaign to Egypt in 1798. The French Emperor-to-be attempted to conquer Egypt to counteract the English influence in the Middle East and India. The General was not coming to Egypt with soldiers only. As a newly elected French Academy of Sciences member, he took 167 savants to Egypt in 1798. There he founded the first modern scientific institute in Egypt: the Institut d’Egypte in Cairo.
 Obelisk, Place de la Concorde © French Moments
The Luxor obelisk on its way to France
King Charles X (1757-1836) showed an interest in Ancient Egypt and commissioned Jean-François Champollion (who deciphered the ancient hieroglyphs) to arrange for an obelisk to be returned to Paris.
In 1831, Mohammed-Ali, Viceroy of Egypt, offered France one of the two obelisks which guarded the entrance of the temple of Luxor in Upper Egypt. Both date back to Pharaoh Ramses II, the most powerful king of Ancient Egypt.
A unique ship, the Luxor, was designed to carry the obelisk to France down the Nile and across the Mediterranean Sea to the port city of Toulon and then by river to Paris.
In Charles X’s plans, the obelisk had to find its place on Place de la Concorde. That is the square built in honour of his grandfather and where his brother and sister-in-law were beheaded.
Raising the Obelisk on place de la Concorde
On the 25th of October 1836, 200,000 people gathered at the square to witness the lifting operation to raise the obelisk onto its pedestal.
 Erection of the Luxor Obelisk on Place de la Concorde in 1836. Painting by François Dubois
To the relief of supervisor Lebas and the assembled crowd, the event was a success. From that day, the “Obélisque de Louxor” sits enthroned in the centre of the square.
 The Obelisk seen from the entrance to the Tuileries Garden © French Moments
The oldest monument in Paris
Some 3,500 years old, the obelisk is the oldest monument standing in Paris. It is 23 metres tall and weighs 220 tons. However, the French capital was not the only European city to display an obelisk.
Other Egyptian obelisks in Europe
- The Romans transferred the one standing in Saint Peter’s Square in Rome to decorate the circus.
- Another specimen erected after that of Paris is in London (the obelisk of Tuthmosis III on the Victoria Embankment, better known as Cleopatra’s Needle).
- Without forgetting New York (a twin obelisk to the one in London, erected in Central Park).
The pyramidion
When the obelisk was carried to France in the 19th Century, its original cap had long disappeared. In fact, it was believed to have been stolen in the 6th century BC.
In May 1998, the French authorities decided to refurbish the obelisk by putting a copy of the missing gold-leafed pyramid cap on top, thanks to the initiative of Egyptologist Christiane Desroches Noblecourt. This pyramid cap is called a pyramidion. It is supposed to reflect the rays of the sun.
 The obelisk’s pyramidion © French Moments
In 1988, this tremendous Egyptian landmark was joined by another pharaoh-related structure along the Historical Axis: the modern Glass Pyramid in the Louvre, evoking the Great Pyramid of Giza.
A perpendicular perspective on the Historical Axis
The Place de la Concorde set the stage for another North-South perspective, much shorter, perpendicular to the Historical Axis.
It features, on the South side, beyond the bridge “Pont de la Concorde” across the Seine:
In fact, both monuments match each other across the Place de la Concorde with their grand Classical-style porticos, evoking the design of Roman temples.
 The great perspective from the Madeleine church towards the Bourbon Palace © French Moments
The 19th-century Madeleine Church strangely resembles a Roman temple and shares some similarities with the ancient ‘Maison Carrée’ in Nîmes.
 The Madeleine church seen from the square © French Moments
The Palais Bourbon housed the National Assembly, and its pedimented, collonaded front was inspired by the Madeleine Church at the far end of the short perspective crossing the Place de la Concorde.
 Palais Bourbon from the square © French Moments
The Pont de la Concorde
 Pont de la Concorde, Paris © French Moments
The Pont de la Concorde, crossing the Seine and linking the Place de la Concorde to the Palais Bourbon, was completed in 1791, with many of its stones taken from the dismantled Bastille fortress. When complete, it was said that the people of Paris could ride roughshod over the ancient fortress.
The view from the bridge stretches to the Eiffel Tower, the Alexandre III Bridge on one side, and the other to the Tuileries Garden and the Louvre.
More photos of Place de la Concorde
 The fountain of the seas in Place de la Concorde © French Moments The three needles of Paris! © French Moments Place de la Concorde © French Moments The Historical Axis of Paris in the Tuileries garden near Place de la Concorde © French Moments Winter in Place de la Concorde, Paris © French Moments Place de la Concorde © French Moments
Until the mid-2010s, a Ferris wheel stood in the centre of the square during the Christmas period. It allowed taking beautiful pictures from the beautiful perspective of the Champs-Elysées.
 Christmas in Paris – Place de la Concorde © French Moments The view from the Ferris wheel © French Moments The square at night © French Moments The fountain illuminated © French Moments Place de la Concorde by night © French Moments
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Pope Francis delivered a speech too progressive for Obama to give
Sep 24, 2015, 4:20 PM GMT-3
Pope Francis waves to the crowd from the Speakers Balcony at the US Capitol, September 24, 2015, in Washington, DC. Pool/Getty Images
If President Barack Obama had delivered the text of Pope Francis’s speech to Congress Thursday as a State of the Union address, he would have risked being denounced by Republicans as a socialist.
While most Republicans chose not to complain, and Democrats tried not to gloat, Francis’s speech to Congress was stunning in the breadth, depth, and conviction of its progressivism. That might not have been fully and immediately appreciated by everyone in the House chamber because the combination of Francis’s sotto voce delivery and his heavily accented English made it difficult, lawmakers said, to grasp everything he was saying.
But there was no mistaking his thrust. He made detailed arguments for openness to immigrants, addressing the human roots of climate change, closing the gap between the rich and the poor, and ending the death penalty — all of which invigorated the Democrats in the room.
“It was pretty progressive. He had a little right-to-life stuff in it,” Rep. James Clyburn, the third-ranking House Democrat, said as he cracked a smile thinking about how Republicans would receive the speech. “That’s enough for them.”
The pope isn’t going to change many hearts and minds in the badly divided Congress, lawmakers said, but the moment provided a brief respite from political warfare. Several presidential candidates, including Sens. Bernie Sanders, Lindsey Graham, Marco Rubio, and Ted Cruz, as well as Ben Carson, attended.
Rubio, a Roman Catholic, said in a brief interview that Francis “struck the right tone.” Sanders, a self-described socialist, seemed to like the content even more.
“Pope Francis is clearly one of the important religious and moral leaders not only in the world today but in modern history,” he said in a statement released after the speech. “He forces us to address some of the major issues facing humanity: war, income and wealth inequality, poverty, unemployment, greed, the death penalty and other issues that too many prefer to ignore.”
Democrats were eager enough to present Congress as united that they joined a Republican-led standing ovation when Francis told lawmakers of “our responsibility to protect and defend human life at every state of its development.” Several of them said it was out of respect for the pope. But there was another good reason: It strengthened the perception that the whole speech — most of which they liked — carried unifying themes.
Unity was good for Democrats because the speech favored their policies
Francis was interrupted a few times by whoops from the Democratic side of the chamber — by Steve Cohen, a Jewish Memphis Democrat who got excited about Francis’s mention of the Golden Rule; by New York’s Nydia Velázquez when he called for an end to the death penalty; and by Philadelphia Rep. Chaka Fattah when he mentioned his upcoming visit to that city. The Republicans in the room were a bit more staid. Cruz often appeared unmoved during moments when Rubio, who was sitting nearby, applauded. That was the case when Francis asked whether the greater opportunities sought by past generations of immigrants are “not what we want for our own children?”
It was a home crowd. Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) had announced he would boycott the event over climate change, and there was a brief murmur when it became obvious that three conservative Catholic Supreme Court justices — Antonin Scalia, Samuel Alito, and Clarence Thomas — had not shown up. But it seemed that everyone in attendance just wanted to catch a glimpse of Francis and hear what he had to say.
Big-name guests filed into the public galleries above the House chamber long before the pope’s arrival: Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, former Rep. Gabby Giffords, mega-donor Tom Steyer, and Carson. House members filled the seats in their chamber, followed by the Senate and four Supreme Court justices. At about a minute past 10 am, Francis strode down the center aisle of the House chamber, clad in his familiar white robe and skullcap.
Lawmakers, who had been admonished not to touch the pope, refrained from trying to shake his hand or pat his back. There was no rush to crowd him the way members of Congress try to get into pictures with the president during the annual State of the Union address. When he got to the end of the aisle, he quietly shook hands with Secretary of State John Kerry and then made his way to the rostrum.
Samantha Power, the US ambassador to the UN, pulled out a baby blue iPhone and began snapping pictures. Though she later took to Twitter to commemorate the moment, Power hadn’t posted any of her photos by midday.
For his part, Francis warmed up the audience by describing America as “the land of the free and the home of the brave.” He was slow to move into more politically charged territory but unimpeded when he did. There were 10 standing ovations after his initial greeting, and they were bipartisan.
Francis tackled tough issues at the heart of the US political debate and gently admonished lawmakers to build bridges
At times, Francis seemed to be speaking directly into the headlines and newscasts of the day.
Less than a week after Carson said that America shouldn’t elect a Muslim president, Francis warned that “a delicate balance is required to combat violence perpetrated in the name of a religion, an ideology or an economic system, while also safeguarding religious freedom, intellectual freedom and individual freedoms.”
As Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump promises to build a wall between Mexico and the US, and to prevent Syrian refugees from being admitted to America, Francis compared the current refugee crisis to the one that arose in World War II and said that “we the people of this continent are not fearful of foreigners, because most of us were once foreigners.” That drew a standing ovation. Rubio, who has shifted his emphasis on immigration reform over time, leaped to his feet.
And while Democrats continue to bask in this summer’s Supreme Court decision protecting same-sex marriage, the pope said he was concerned that “fundamental relationships are being called into question, as is the very basis of marriage and the family.” The issue that caused the biggest stir before the speech — climate change — factored prominently in Francis’s remarks. He spoke of the human roots of global warming and said, “I am convinced we can make a difference.”
But perhaps the most unexpected run in the speech was an admonishment as gentle as it was clear: Politics is about building bridges, not destroying them. Francis never mentioned the international nuclear nonproliferation deal with Iran by name or the gridlock in American politics, but he seemed to be speak to both matters.
“When countries which have been at odds resume the path of dialogue — a dialogue which may have been interrupted for the most legitimate of reasons — new opportunities open up for all,” he said. “A good political leader is one who, with the interests of all in mind, seizes the moment in a spirit of openness and pragmatism. A good political leader always opts to initiate processes rather than possessing spaces.”
Pennsylvania Republican Rep. Joe Pitts, speaking about the pope’s limited remarks on abortion and same-sex marriage, said he was displeased that Francis had been “unfortunately politically correct.”
For liberals, though, he was simply correct about politics.
https://www.vox.com/2015/9/24/9393731/pope-francis-speech-progressive-obama
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Post by shipstamps » Tue Nov 18, 2008 4:27 pm
 Not much is know about the caravel, where and when built unknown. Tonnage 200 ton, dim. 85 x 25 x 14ft. (draught) Four masts, fore and main mast square rigged, mizzen and Bonaventura mast lateen rigged. She was the flagship of Don Pedro de Mendoza (1487-1537) expedition to the River Plata. Mendoza held a post in the court of Charles V, when he in 1534 made an offer to Emperor Charles V to make an expedition on his own account for the discovery and conquest of Paraguay and the countries on the Rio La Plata. 24 August 1534 Mendoza on board the MAGDALENA and 13 other vessels, with 3000 men set sail from San Lucar, Spain. Receive from the Emperor before sailing 2.000 ducats, with the condition, when he transported to the new founded colonies 1000 colonists and 100 horses, build a road to the Pacific Ocean, erect three forts within two years he would receive 2.000 ducats more. Also he had to take 8 monks, a physician, a surgeon, and an apothecary, but he was forbidden to introduce a lawyer in the colony. He was to have half the treasure of the chiefs killed and nine-tenths of the ransom. Mendoza was made before sailing military governor of all the territory between the Rio de la Plata and the Strait of Magellan. The office of the Governor was also made hereditary. Off the coast of Brazil the fleet was scattered in a heavy storm, and Medoza lieutenant Osario, was assassinated, according to some authorities by the orders of Mendoza himself because of suspected disloyalty. 1535 Mendoza sailed up the Rio de la Plata, and founded Buenos Aires on 02 February 1536. He erected two forts there to defend the place. Pestilence broke out and the natives became unfriendly after ill treatment by the Spaniards. His brother Don Diego led a force against the hostile tribes, but was killed with three-fourths of his men. A general conspiracy of the natives was formed, and Buenos Aires was captured and burned by the natives. Mendoza retired to the forth Sanctus-Spiritus, from where he dispatched Juan de Ayolas to explore the upper part of the river. Another brother, Gonzalo arrived with reinforcements and founded the city of Ascención in Paraguay in 1536. Mendoza, disappointed and with a broken health, embarked on board the MAGDALENA for Spain in 1537, leaving Juan de Ayolas in charge. During the long voyage to Spain he died maniac on board the MAGDALENA on 23 June 1537. The fate of the MAGDALENA is not known. Argentine 1979 400p + 400p sg 1646 Source: mostly copied from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedro_de_Mendoza http://famousamericans.net/pedrodemendoza
https://shipstamps.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6731
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 MANDEL NGAN/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
President Barack Obama welcomes Pope Francis to the White House on September 23, 2015 in Washington, D.C.
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The 'Esquiline' Obelisk
The 'Esquiline' Obelisk
The Obelisco Esquilino (14.75 m) stands in Piazza dell' Esquilino, at the rear of the church of Santa Maria Maggiore. The obelisk dates back to the second century CE and once stood outside the Mausoleum of Augustus, where it was paired with the Obelisco Quirinale.
The obelisk was unearthed (broken into several pieces) in 1519, near the ruins of the mausoleum. However, it wasn’t until the reign of Pope Sixtus V (r. 1585-90) that it was re-erected. In 1587 the pope had it set up in the piazza in front of the entrance to his property, Villa Peretti Montalto. The villa was destroyed in the 19th century to make way for the building of Stazione Termini, Rome's main railway station.
The base sports four inscriptions, which were added at the behest of Pope Sixtus V.
South-west face: SIXTVS V PONT MAX / OBELISCVM / AEYGPTO ADVECTVM / AVGVSTO / IN EIVS MAVSOLEO / DICATVM / EVERSUM DEINDE ET / IN PLVRES CONFRACTVM PARTES / IN VIA AD SANCTVM / ROCHVM IACENTEM / IN PRISTINAM FACIEM / RESTITVTVM / SALVTIFERAE CRVCI / FELICIVS / HIC ERIGI IVSSIT AN D / MDLXXXVII PONT III. (Pope Sixtus V bade the obelisk lying in the street by San Rocco, which had been transported from Egypt and dedicated to Augustus at his mausoleum, then broken up into several pieces, to be restored to its original appearance and erected here in more auspicious wise to the Cross which brings salvation, in the year of the Lord 1587, the third of his pontificate.) South-east face: CHRISTVS / PER INVICTAM / CRVCEM / POPVLO PACEM / PRAEBEAT / QVI / AVGVSTI PACE / IN PRAESEPE NASCI / VOLVIT. (May Christ, who during the peace of Augustus consented to be born in a manger, grant peace to his people through the invincible Cross.)North-east face: CHRISTI DEI / IN AETERNVM VIVENTIS / CVNABVLA /LAETISSIME COLO /QVI MORTVI / SEPVLCRO AVGVSTI / TRISTIS / SERVIEBAM. (I who in sadness formerly served the tomb of the dead Augustus with greatest joy revere the cradle of Christ, the everliving God).
North-west face: CHRISTVM DOMINVM / QVEM AVGVSTVS / DE VIRGINE / NASCITVRVM / VIVENS ADORAVIT / SEQ DEINCEPS / DOMINVM / DICI VETVIT / ADORO. (I worship Christ the Lord, whom Augustus in his lifetime worshipped on the eve of his birth from a Virgin and subsequently forbade himself to be called Lord.)
https://www.walksinrome.com/the-esquiline-obelisk-rome.html |
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Now we take a look at the National Mall and its crowd sections which we will label "A, B, C, D, E...":
https://www.supertorchritual.com/underground/articles/trump-inauguration-crowd.html
Let's focus on section A and the crowd in it, and work out the geometry of the sight line from the Capitol camera. (Note: The ground elevations of the crowd sections will be noted in the diagrams, which you can use to check the calculations. You can also use Google Earth.)
The goal here is to see the extent of the "blind spot", i.e. the area behind the crowd (= height ~1.77 m) that's hidden from the Capitol cameraman. As you can see above, the blind spot does not cover the entire length of the gap between crowd sections A and B. This means part of this gap (green segment) should be visible in photos taken by the Capitol camera. And that is indeed the case:
Let's examine section B:
This time the blind spot does cover the whole length of the gap between the two crowds (B & C). This means no visible gap should appear in the photo, and that is indeed the case:
Next, section C:
Again, and even more so, the blind spot completely covers the gap between the crowds (C & D). We don't see the gap in the photo:
Next up, section D:
The blind spot extends even further into the next crowd (E). Obviously no gap is visible from the perspective of the Capitol cameraman:
Section E is the last crowd in the Mall. The subsequent sections - F, G (& H) - are all empty. This is the huge white, empty area you see in this picture from the Washington Monument:
And yet, in the photo from the Capitol it becomes just a thin, barely noticeable white line:
 
Conclusion
So there you have it. There is no escaping it: Donald Trump's inauguration was half empty (in the National Mall), "period". That's not an opinion or wishful thinking or propaganda. It's irrefutable fact.
That fact in itself is not important. What's much more important is what this reveals about the people who promoted and/or eagerly believed the silly, blatantly false conspiracy theory. It's like believing in the Flat Earth theory (which inexplicably got popular last year). The lack of rational thinking demonstrated by this is worrisome.
It's more understandable with average people on the internet. But it's quite disturbing with the President of the United States and people like Alex Jones (Infowars) with a huge audience and influence. How much of it is willful lying and how much of it wishful thinking or self-deception? Of course, with Trump, we know who he is; he is who he is and does what he does. And people voted him into the White House knowing this. So it is what it is. But...
As made clear by the example of the inauguration crowd size, the level of intelligence exhibited by the likes of Alex Jones in their conspiracy theories is quite low. They are highly unreliable conspiracy theorists at best, an unofficial propaganda arm for the new establishment now in power at worst. Listen to them and trust them at your own peril. Things are different now, and they may have become the opposite of what they represented. Think twice before you drink the Kook-Aid in Jonestown. Remember: There is truth, and there is everything else. That's not political.
Watch again:
Either you are with truth, or you are with corruption.
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