Thursday, February 18, 2010

European Adventure Recap - The Pantheon (Exterior Edition)

Sunday October 25, 2009
Paris, France

The sign at the Pantheon, explaining some of its history (click to enlarge).

The Pantheon is a church / burial site in the Latin Quarter area of Paris.

"In 1744, King Louis XV vowed that...he would replace the ruined Abbey of Sainte-Geneviève with an edifice worthy of the patron saint of Paris."  And so, the Pantheon was built.  Construction started in 1758 and was completed in 1789.  The long construction time was due to financial troubles.

The Pantheon is a Neoclassical building, taking after the Pantheon in Rome

One distinct difference of the Pantheon in Paris versus the Pantheon in Rome is that the Paris version is topped with a dome.  The dome very reminiscent of St. Paul's Cathedral in London - shown in my previous post here (it's at the end of that post).

The Architect was Jaques-Germain Soufflot, who unfortunately passed away before the Pantheon was completed.

The portico of Corinthian columns on the front of the Pantheon

This is a view of the backside of the Pantheon from down the street.

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