Brief reminder of Part 1 (without mistake ). The Pantheon was built between 1764 & 1790 at the request of Louis XV to rebuild the church of Saint Genevieve, patron saint of the City of Paris. ------------------ After a chaotic period, the building, which had just been completed and was not yet consecrated as a church, was to be used, by a decree of 4 April 1794, as a necropole for exceptional personnalities who contributed to the greatness of France. Thus, between 1791 and 1793, the building was profoundy modified by Quatremère de Quincy, who gave it its current apparance. It finally became a mausoleum in 1885 with the funeral of Victor Hugo. It is difficult to list the people transfered to this mausoleum where there are curently 75 men and 6 women, but let us mention the latest in 2018 : Simone & Antoine VEIL, in 2020 : Maurice GENEVOIX and in November 2021 : Joséphine BAKER. Inside the Pantheon, the traces of the religious consecration are evident by the presence on the walls of paintings dedicated mainly to the life of Saint Genevieve. The crypt run the length of the building and has four galleries which are divided into sections with writers, scientists, national heroes. Since 1995, a reconstruction of the Earth ' s rotary motion has been on display in the centre of the dome, of the Earth. It is the pendule, created by the physicist Léon Foucault, measuring 67 metres long, presented with the original metal sphere used for the experimant. The Pantheon, an eclectique monument due to its architecture, represents the memory of France. |