Arènes de Lutèce

 

The 2nd-century Roman Lutetia Amphitheatre (Arènes de Lutèce) once seated 10,000 people for gladiator fights, theatrical presentations, and other public spectacles, including grisly engagements with large animals. 

Rendering of the original construction:

Discovered by accident in 1869 when Rue Monge was under construction, it’s now used by young locals playing soccer and older locals playing boules (a kind of lawn bowling). There is an adjacent park and garden, down a flight of wide stone steps:

The arena was used until c. 1210, when Philippe Augustus had it filled in while building his adjacent city wall, a remnant of which is still visible on Rue Clovis (marked with a plaque), at the intersection of Rue Cardinal Lemoine. Photo at end of post.

Arena hours: 8:00a to 8:30p May through September. Shorter hours rest of year (usually closing at dusk). No admission charge.

METRO: Cardinal Lemoine. Entry at 49 rue Monge, but it's easy to miss, so here's a photo of the arched entrance, adjacent to the Hôtel des Arènes at #51, with green awnings.Walking south from the METRO station, the arena will be on the left side of rue Monge.

Retrace your steps to the METRO station, turn left onto rue Cardinal Lemoine, then take the first right onto Rue Clovis. Remnants of the 13th-century city wall built by Philip Augustus will be on the left side of Rue Clovis. Part of the rubble used as fill during construction is visible:

 

André Breton's Surrealism Manisfesto

André Breton photographed circa 1924 

 Fans of the early 20th century surrealism movement can get their fix on the Place du Panthéon. André Breton and Philippe Soupault co-wrote surrealism's manifesto Les champs magnétiques (The Magnetic Fields, 1921) while residing at 17, place du Panthéon, the address of the Hôtel des Grands Hommes. Breton moved in during the summer of 1918 and made reference to the hotel in his book, Nadja. What this means for us is that, for the price of a night's stay, we can check in and soak up all that authentic surrealist atmosphere. 

The hotel has been considerably upgraded since its days as a cheap respite for impoverished writers one hundred years ago. The hotel’s name makes reference to the “great men” interred in the massive mausoleum across the street, the Panthéon. The handsome six story 18th century hotel building is now furnished in Empire style, with decorative medallions and walls upholstered in neoclassical toile de jouy fabrics. Many of the rooms on the fifth and sixth floors have small balconies and face directly onto the Panthéon. The hotel is now classified as a three-star property and provides good value for money. The entire establishment was refurbished in 2002, and a plus is that the location is very quiet at night. Standing on the steps of the Panthéon tourists can view the sparkle effects of the Eiffel Tower as it shows off its glamor for five minutes on the hour (from dusk until the last time at 11 pm).

http://www.hoteldesgrandshommes.com Métro: RER B Luxembourg

     

Balcony views of the Panthéon:

Église Saint-Étienne-du-Mont

Rising in a straight line between Notre-Dame Cathedral and the Panthéon is Rue de la Montagne Sainte-Geneviève. The street has carried that name since medieval times, but its origins date back to the Roman occupation. This was the road used to reach a monastery established by Clovis, the first French Catholic king, who was buried there in 511. The Ste. Geneviève mentioned in the street name, however, was the patrician woman who converted Clovis to Christianity, later becoming the patron saint of Paris. Geneviève is credited with saving Paris from an assault by the Huns. At the top of this “mountain” (actually no more than a hill) sits the church of Saint-Étienne-du-Mont (St. Stephen of the Mount), located where the Rue de la Montagne Sainte-Geneviève ends at the Place du Panthéon. The church contains the elaborate shrine of Ste. Geneviève's remains, as well as the tombs of Blaise Pascal (mathematician, physicist and philosopher), playwright Jean Racine and the French Revolutionary figure Jean Paul Marat. The shrine of Sainte Geneviève (above). 

Saint-Étienne-du-Mont was built to accommodate the crowds swarming the neighboring abbey and 12-century chapel devoted to Ste. Geneviève. This was essentially a move designed to keep the crowds out of the monastery proper, which had become an overly popular pilgrimage center. Saint-Étienne-du-Mont literally abutted the north wall of the abbey church, which fell victim to the French Revolution and was pulled down in 1807. Today this site houses a prestigious high school, the Lycée Henri IV; the school property still encompasses a bell tower from 1180, the only surviving structure from the abbey. The present church of Saint-Étienne-du-Mont dates back to the late 15th century, and is an unusual mix of Gothic and French Renaissance architectural styles. The apse was begun in 1491, and the bell tower was not completed until 1624. One of the most unusual features of Saint-Étienne-du-Mont is its celebrated Rood Screen (c. 1525), the double-stair stone arch that separates the choir, where the monks sat, from the body of the church, where the parishioners worshiped. A reader would mount the screen by way of the fantastically carved spiral stone staircases to read scripture. This Rood Screen is the only one left in Paris, all others falling victim to the destructive forces of the Revolution (1790s). It is a tremendous work of craftsmanship, adding a commanding presence and elegance to the interior. Notice the magnificent ceiling vaulting.

 

 

There is an important musical legacy related to this church. Maurice Duruflé, the renowned organist, composer, and improviser, held the post of organist at Saint-Étienne-du-Mont for 57 years, from 1929 until his death in 1986. The magnificently carved gallery organ case (see image below) dates from 1633 and is the oldest in Paris, although the organ pipes it houses today date from the 1950s. The 4-manual organ of 96 stops is one of the principal Parisian instruments used for recitals, and many organ recordings have been made here. Duruflé lived in an apartment building directly opposite the church; a plaque installed in 2002, the centenary of his birth, indicates the precise location. His widow, a celebrated organ recitalist, continued to live there until her death in 1999. The apartment housed a 3-manual pipe organ.

NO entry fee; NO tourists during masses. Corner of  rue Clovis and Place du Panthéon.

 

Schola Cantorum

269, rue Saint-Jacques

Latin Quarter

















In 1920 American popular song writer Cole Porter enrolled for a two-year study of harmony, counterpoint and orchestration at the Schola Cantorum, which then had an enrollment of about 500 students. The recently married Cole Porter, just back from his honeymoon in southern France and Italy, was living in Paris at the time, and for a short while he fancied himself a writer of serious instrumental music. He eventually dropped out of this music school to get back to writing popular songs.

Established by Vincent d’Indy, Alexandre Guilmant and Charles Bordes in 1896, the school is situated between the Luxembourg Gardens and the Val-de-Grâce military hospital. Founded as a counterbalance to the Paris Conservatoire's emphasis on opera, its students have been taught by a faculty of such notables as Darius Milhaud, Albert Roussel, Maurice Duruflé, Louis Vierne, Jean Langlais and Olivier Messaien. Distinguished alumni include Erik Satie, Edgard Varèse, Isaac Albéniz, Herman Berlinski, John Jacob Niles, Seth Bingham, Prince Edmond de Polignac, Douglas Moore and Joseph Canteloube.

The building, a converted English Benedictine convent, is little changed in the hundred plus years since its move to this location in 1900 – a cream-colored stucco building of somewhat faded elegance with a cobblestone courtyard bordered by a privet hedge, and a fine interior staircase with wrought iron bannisters. A plaque on the wall next to the courtyard doors offers details of its founding as a school of music, dance and dramatic arts.

Panthéon & Place du Panthéon

This rather austere square (it could sure use some greenery!) surrounds the monument honoring great French men, the Panthéon. When Louis XV was ill, he vowed to build a church to honor Sainte Geneviève, the patron saint of Paris, if he recovered. Recover he did, but the church wasn’t completed until the time of the French Revolution, when all church property was seized by the citizens. The 42 windows were eventually walled up, and the great neo-classical building, which bears an uncanny resemblance to St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, became a mausoleum for Voltaire, Rousseau, Victor Hugo, Émile Zola and other notables. Marie Curie broke the sex barrier when she was re-interred here in 1995. An inscription on the building reads: To the great men of France, from a grateful nation. 

 

It is possible to climb the steps to the top of the dome for a spectacular view of all Paris. Foucault’s pendulum, which proves the rotation of the earth, was until recently set up on the main floor, and numerous murals and frescoes, some of which form a diorama of the life of Sainte Geneviève, adorn the walls. The overall effect is rather grandiose, a bit cold and a large bit monolithic. From the front steps one has a view down Rue Soufflot, named after the architect of the Panthéon, to the Luxembourg Gardens and the Eiffel Tower (in the distance). 

Also on this square is the Sainte-Geneviève library, built on the site of the Montaigu College, which was known for the harsh standards of education its pupils endured, as well as the squalor of its rooms. However, Erasmus, Ignatius Loyola and John Calvin all managed to survive the rigors. Erasmus later reminisced about the "bad food, hard beds and harsh blows." The present building dates from 1850 and is inscribed with the names of more than 800 scholars. Now serving the University of Paris, the library houses over 2 million documents. Amazingly, it's open to the public.

The Mairie (Town Hall) of the 5th Arrondissement is located on the southwest corner of this vast square. This is where local residents come to vote, register their children for school and pay parking tickets. 

The historic church Eglise St-Etiènne-du-Mont (see separate post, link in the sidebar) and the neighboring Lycée Henri-IV (the most prestigious high school in France) are located behind the Panthéon. Georges Pompidou taught literature at the Lycée Henri-IV, and a roster of famous students includes Guy de Maupassant, André Gide, Baron Haussmann, and Jean-Paul Sartre. This school was the first public high school in all of France, and it occupies the historic buildings of the former Sainte-Geneviève abbey.