France June 2016 - The Pantheon

The Panthéon from the Classical Greek word , pántheion, '(temple) to all the gods' is a monument in the 5th arrondissement of Paris, France. The edifice was built from 1758 to 1790 over the designs of Jacques-Germain Soufflot at the behest of King Louis XV of France, who meant is as a church dedicated to Saint Genevieve, the city's patron saint, whose relics were to be housed there. Neither Soufflot nor Louis XV however lived to see the church completed.

By the time the construction was finished, the French Revolution had started, and the National Constituent Assembly voted in 1791 to transform the Church of Saint Genevieve into a mausoleum for the remains of distinguished French citizens, modelled on the Pantheon in Rome which had been used in this way since the 16th century. The first panthéonisé was Honoré Gabriel Riqueti, comte de Mirabeau, although his remains were removed from the place a few years later. The building was twice restored to church usage in the course of the 19th century—although Soufflot's remains were transferred inside it in 1829—until the French Third Republic finally decreed its exclusive use as a mausoleum in 1881; the placement of Victor Hugo's remains in the crypt in 1885 was the first one in over fifty years.

The successive changes in the building's purpose resulted in modifications of the pediment's decoration, the capping of the dome by a cross or a flag, and some of the originally existing windows were blocked up with masonry in order to give the interior a darker and more funereal atmosphere, which compromised somewhat Soufflot's initial attempt at combining the lightness and brightness of the Gothic cathedral with classical principles.  The architecture of the Panthéon is an early example of Neoclassicism, surmounted by a dome that owes some of its character to Bramante's Tempietto.

As of 2018 the remains of 78 people have been transferred to the Panthéon, including five women's. More than half of all the panthéonisations were made under Napoleon's rule during the First French Empire.

   
Looking from the Pantheon's steps at the Eiffel Tower.
   
Inside the Pantheone was a massive room filled with art, sculptures, tapestries and magnificent architecture.
   
Behind those columns are scenes from Joan of Arc's life.
   
 
   
 
   
 
   
The National Convention (French: Convention nationale) was the first government of the French Revolution.
   
We descended down the stairs in the back to the crypt.  Some of the greats buried here are Rosseau, Voltaire, Marie Curie, Victor Hugo, Alexandre Dumas and Louis Braille.  And one of the great aviation writers Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.  But as you can see, other than the names on the stone tombs, not much to see.   (Photo from Wikipedia)
   
Aerial view of the Pantheone.
   
After leaving the Pantheone, we stopped and did one of our favorite things in Paris --relax over wine and expresso at a corner cafe/bar.  As you can see, it is a favorite passtime of Parisians, and they are on almost every street corner.
   
 
   
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