Notre Dame Body & Soul
In a country of monuments, everything is always under reconstruction
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.