Continental Riffs

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Continental Riffs
Notre Dame Body & Soul

Notre Dame Body & Soul

In a country of monuments, everything is always under reconstruction

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James Graham
Jan 18, 2024
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Notre Dame et les bouquinistes sous la neige, Galien-Laloue 1912.

Late last week, Notre Dame in Paris celebrated the completed reconstruction of both the rooftop charpente, which stands over the choir at the back of the cathedral (behind the altar) and the fleche (or spire), where fire broke out in April 2019. Skilled artisans rebuilt the old fashioned way, much as they might have done in the 1300s. The photo below, courtesy of Notre Dame, shows the workers celebrating, with one of the enormous booms lowering a large ornamental bouquet for the peak of the Charpente. (That, too, an old tradition.) The fleche behind it is still hidden inside metal scaffolding.

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