Medici column

The Medici column is a monument in Paris, France, located in front of the Bourse de commerce. It has been listed since 1862 as a monument historique by the French Ministry of Culture, and is the only remnant of the former Hôtel de Soissons.[1]

Medici column

History

The column was built in 1575 by Jean Bullant at the request of Catherine de' Medici.[2] It is believed it may be a tribute to Henri II, who was killed after a prediction was made by Nostradamus. Catherine also had a love for astrology and when Nostradamus left Paris, she asked to have the column built so that Cosimo Ruggieri could use it.[2]

Description

The fluted column is 28 meters high. Inside are 147 spiral steps which lead to a viewing platform. It used to have a glass roof. Now the platform is covered with an iron frame. The four corners of the columns top match the four points of a compass. The column was not an original part of the plan when Catherine de' Medici was planning the building of her home, Hôtel de Soissons, to which the column connected.[2]

Location
Located near the Métro stations: Louvre - Rivoli and Les Halles.
gollark: Made of apiohazards.
gollark: Also, you CAN just shift click when placing a blueprint to deconstruct anything which dares stand in your way.
gollark: Meh, we have 2000 or so, the system adds more when we go above 50% use.
gollark: They ran at full back when the array was really tiny during the coal crisis.
gollark: The solar arrays have not run at their full power output for some time.

References
  1. Mérimée PA00085839, Ministère français de la Culture. (in French) Ancien hôtel de Soissons
  2. Garance, Jacques; Raton, Maud (2007). Secret Paris. Paris: Jonglez Publishing. pp. 10. ISBN 2915807175.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.