A visit to the Pantheon in Paris

Of all of my trips to Paris I had never made it into the Latin Quarter to the Pantheon. Sure, I had admired the neo-classical dome marking the cities' skyline from a distance but never made the trek up the Sainte Genevieve hill to visit until just recently.

 Up close the stunning stone decoration comes into sharp focus.

The huge scale of the interior needs other visitors to fully appreciate.  The proportions are so grand that it's hard to grasp the true scale otherwise.

The building has a fascinating history. Originally built as a church to Saint Genevieve by Louis XV in thanks for surviving an illness, construction began in 1758. The church was designed by architect Jacques-Germain Soufflot who was an early adoptor of the neo-classical style and this was to become his most famous commission.

The history becomes more interesting as the structure was de-consecrated by revolutionists in 1791 and turned into a mausoleum for Great Frenchmen and stripped of all ecclesiastical objects and art.

Later under different governments (France has a rocky history afterall) the Pantheon was to return to use as a church twice until finally becoming a meeting house for French intellectuals with graves in the basement crypt for the most important French intellectuals and scientists.

In 1851 the church was renowned as a hub of science when physicist Leon Foucault demonstrated the rotation of earth with a large pendulum hung from the central dome. This was recently reinstated with a copy seen below as the original is in a nearby museum.

The pantheon may be a temple to intellectuals and science but I was drawn to the great art found within.

 Great sculptures and vast paintings mark moments in French history.

 I particularly liked this painting of Joan of Arc.

 Areas still harken back to the time of when it was used as a church.

 I really admired the jacket of revolutionary war hero Lazare Hoche.

Notice the extra height the doors have visually with the fixed transoms over the operable door (look very carefully for where the operable door ends).  Very elegant overdoors too which also add to the verticality of the space.

 My favorite item in the Pantheon however has to be the original architectural model!

Built of stone and plaster the model has section cuts painted red which make them clear.  This particularly helps to show the construction of the dome and vaults.

While the appearance of the building is neo-classical,  structurally it utilizes many Gothic methods of construction like cleverly hidden flying buttresses.

 The crypt where many famous French citizens are buried is included in the model.

 While the model is rather rough it still includes details such as this staircase on an upper level.

The large tower shown on the left above no longer survives but you can see the dome of the room in which this model sits underneath.

The main entrance to the crypt is outdoors, seen above, but I really loved the elegant smaller round stairs below enclosed within the building.

 The crypt is enormous with room for centuries of burials.

The first chambers house only a few people such as Rousseau, Voltaire, and the architect of the Pantheon Soufflot.

 Commemorative plaques are found throughout the building.

 Below is the wood coffin of Rousseau in the form of a Greek temple.

 As always, click on the images to view them larger and take in the details.

 Voltaire is marked by this life sized statue.

 Soufflots Greek formed sarcophagus below.

 How cool is this space (literally and figuratively).

 Myriad burial chambers line the entire basement.

 I loved these pieces of sculpture which had fallen off the pediment artfully displayed in the crypt.

 A long history of the building was also in one of the crypt's chambers.

I'm always amazed by nature showing up in the most unexpected spots -here a fern growing under one of the massive stone columns lining the portico.

I'm not sure why I waited through so many years of Parisian getaways to visit the Pantheon. I highly recommend you pay a visit and if you have time, pay the extra 3 euro to visit the roof for a lovely view of the city.

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A neo-classical gem in Venice, Lorenzo Santi's coffeehouse

While many people may not associate Venice with neoclassical architecture one of my favorite buildings in that style happens to be located in the most prominent section of Venice, just off St Marks square directly on the Grand Canal.

One foggy morning I woke up early and caught the vaporetto from our apartment across the canal to see the building without the surrounding hoards of tourists.

The building has sat vacant for years as it's not considered important by the Italians -too 'new'.  These interior photos are part of the documentation (not my own) of a long planned restoration of the pavilion as well as the adjacent royal gardens (more about that HERE).  

Finished in 1817 by the architect Lorenzo Santi it has been known as the Padiglione (pavilion) Santi ever since.  Googlemaps however seems to call it the Palazzina Selva.  

The pavilion was built as a coffeehouse much like Cafe Florian which is directly behind.  Once renovated the plan is to return it to a coffeehouse.  With its prime location I anticipate it becoming extremely popular.

 I love the delicately carved marble frieze.

Lovely view, not mine, taken from the Grand canal. You can see it sits directly adjacent to the busy San Marco vaporetto stop. 

 I hope by my next trip to Venice I'll be able to have an espresso in my favorite building!

While we're in the general area I thought I would share a few of my early morning foggy photos of an empty Palazzo San Marco.

The fog was so thick one could barely see to the end of the loggia - see the cleaning crew in fluorescent yellow at the far end?

I think my snapshots show that Venice is one of the most beautiful cities in the world!

There are benefits to waking up early; having the square to oneself (with just the scourge of  pigeons).

 I literally felt their wings on my cheek as they flew overhead.

 At one end of the square is the namesake St Mark's Basilica.

As always, click the photos to view larger on your screen.

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Palladio's Villa Rotonda - IN PERSON

When broadly asked what my favorite building is I have always answered "The Villa Rotonda". While in Venice I finally got to see it in person and I can honestly say my answer has not changed (phew)!

The most famous of structures by the most famous of architects, Andrea Palladio, the villa is by definition one of the most perfect examples of classicism; Symmetry, scale, and proportion all reign here.

While we've all seen so many pictures of the house I still found a lot of surprises around each corner.

The first surprise was that the house creates a strong hilltop axis with the family chapel on the other side of the road from the entry drive. Who knew?

 A barn and a retaining wall flank the sloped drive up to the house from the road while a small classical chapel is perched on the hillside opposite - making the visibility of the road disappear from the house much like in a British 'haha'. No, I didn't make a joke, click the link to see what a Haha is!

There is some debate about the architect of the chapel; whether it was Palladio who died in 1580 and never saw completion of the villa or the architect Vincenzo Scamozzi who finished the project.  I would argue for Palladio because such an important axial connection to the house must have been an early decision.

Here are the gates to the driveway and the hoards of German tourists who crowded all my photos!

The barn on the right side of the drive has a wonderful rear facade of its own by Scamozzi -notice the tables and chairs in the loggia? A lovely spot.

 The end of the barn facing the villa has a lovely composition rather than a blank facade.  The small gift shop is just behind here.

The house is completely symmetrical in that all 4 sides are faced with a grand set of stairs to a temple front. Each is only slightly different but who is to know since you can't view each side simultaneously.

 Sitting on a hilltop the house is visible from all sides so by that reasoning it couldn't have a back facade.

The surprise to me was just HOW visible it is to the many neighbors who view the house. It's really in the middle of the Vicenza suburbs and not nestled into the country as so many photos would lead one to believe.

The gardens aren't much to write home about, I suppose the owners realize everyone is visiting for the architecture, but this rear corner with the best views of the surroundings has a nice spot to rest and this lovely old well.

 All 4 sides may be nearly identical but the views and approach of each is completely different.

The stairs have locked storage beneath them but one is able to walk underneath the porches -creating lovely vistas.

 The brick house is completely covered in stucco but the basement alcoves have limestone flooring.

Light reaches basement windows covered by the entry porches via these ingenious light wells covered with bars on the floor of each porch. This keeps the tunnels below from becoming too dark as well.

 I loved seeing the brickwork of the vaulted ceilings below the porches.

Above is a view of the basement as seen from below the porch.  What a lovely spot this would be for a nighttime party! Originally these would have been service spaces.

 But enough of the outside which we all know so well. Should we go in?

Don't forget to wipe your boots of mud.......oh wait that rusted out centuries ago....... Hope you had your tetanus shot.

 Looking out from the house you get a rather cheeky view (there is your haha joke.....).

The interiors are contentious;  Palladio may never have planned for such ornate interiors but owners had different ideas. The quality of the paintings is mediocre at best inside what is probably the best house in the world.

The interior hall below the dome has tromple l'oeil architectural elements while every other surface is practically covered with frescoes.  The purist architect in me wishes the architecture could speak for itself - one barely notices the carved stone details for all of the painted 'noise'. I do love these terrazzo floors though. Some decoration is great but it's easy to have too much. What was it Chanel said?

Here in Palladio's section of the villa from his Quattro Libri you can sense the space without the decoration.  All aspects of the design here are mathematically precise per Palladio's rules of architecture defined in his book.

 I mean sure it's great but........

 The ceilings of the 4 principal corner rooms feature ornate plaster coves with central frescoes.

The owners are in residence although 3 of the 4 rooms are left more open for the weekly admittance of tourists.

The living room is used by the family and has modern comfortable furniture. Notice the Villa Rotonda cookie jar on the coffee table? I have one as well, see blog post on it HERE from 10 years ago! Seeing that in-situ was an exciting moment for me.

Of course I had to have my picture taken sitting on the front steps!  I hope you learned a little more about the world's most famous house from my visit!

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