Wednesday 1 January 2014

St Paul


The St Paul metro emerges on an island at the junction of Rue St Antoine, Rue Rivoli and rue Francois Miron . It is Parisienne Instant with all all the familiar icons- Morris Column, Wallace Fountain, news kiosk, metro sign, pavement cafes and a small carousel in summer. Along the rue St Antoine are many good food and wine shops, traditional corner cafes etc. On the south side near the metro entrance at no 101 Lycee Charlemange is the site of the Port Saint Antoine in the wall of Phillipe Augustus. Parts of the wall of Phillipe Augustus can be seen around the Marais.

Just by the metro entrance on the south side of rue St Antoine No 133 has a balcony supported by Rocaille chimeras Circa 1728 above the bar Chimera.


Heading down rue St Antoine east towards Bastille and near the end of the island to the right is the large Jesuit church of St Paul St Louis. The present building was constructed from 1627 to 1641 by the Jesuit architects Étienne Martellange and François Derand, on the orders of Louis XIII of France. Delacroix painted Christ in agony on the Mount of Olives for the church, which is still to be seen there. The church also houses La vierge del Douleur by Germain Pilon (1586). On one pillar on the right side of the nave is a nearly-erased inscription 'République française ou la mort' (French Republic or death), probably dating to the Paris Commune of 1871.

Facing the chrch to your left you can see a small statue of St Catherine above a bookshop on the corner of rue Saint Antoine and rue Sevigne.


Behind the buildings on the north side of the rue St Antoine is a small square named after a market installed in 1784 on the site of the former Convent of Sainte-Catherine-du-Val ( xiii century ). Although a bit of a tourist trap in the high season this is well worth a brief detour. It is surrounded by tall buildings built in the late eighteenth century and is virtually closed to car traffic, paved, decorated with trees, benches and has a number of terrace restaurants. At the top of the street is the rue Jarente which also has a few bars and restaurants.


Monday 24 June 2013

ONE THOUSAND THINGS I MISS ABOUT PARIS

This blog is about urban landscape as a repository of collective and personal memory. It is focussed on a walk one may take through Paris, mostly those parts which may be said to be pre-Haussman, and explores the city as a palimpsest. Buildings and places which have borne witness to a range of events, most historical, some experienced first hand.

"Understanding is the essence of that which one achieves through information intentionally acquired or experience one has oneself lived through" Gurdjieff

A recurring theme will be loss, those things that are lost as Paris constantly re-invents itself, incremental changes that become more apparent on less frequent visits than when witnessed daily.

The blog may not follow the route in the order indicated in this plan but reference may be made to it.



It starts at St Pauls which is in the heart of The Marais.