Pont Neuf Paris 02
by Weston Westmoreland
Title
Pont Neuf Paris 02
Artist
Weston Westmoreland
Medium
Photograph - Photograph
Description
The Pont Neuf at dusk. Paris, France.
Panoramic view of the Pont Neuf and the Ile de la Cite at dusk when the electric lighting is turned on.
The Pont Neuf, or New Bridge, happens to be the oldest standing Parisian bridge across the Seine. Its path is interrupted by the western edge of the Île de la Cité, the island in the middle of the river that was the birthplace of Paris around 250 BC, then known as Lutetia, and during the medieval period, the heart of the city, where the kings and queens of France lived.
The bridge is composed of two separate spans, one of five arches joining the left bank to the Île de la Cité, another of seven joining the island to the right bank. Old maps of Paris show that the bridge just grazed the downstream tip of the island. Since then, stone-faced embankments called quais, have extended the island. Today the tip of the island is the location of the Square du Vert-Galant, a small public park named in honour of Henry IV, nicknamed the "Green Gallant".
That tiny patch of the island has a less romantic side too. The tip of the island was used to burn heretics and Jewish people, and Jaques de Molay the last Grand Master of the Knights Templar, was also burned there on a Friday 13th, when he cursed his executioners and all those who permitted his unfair execution. The curse was fulfilled and the legend of Friday the 13th begun.
As for Paris... what can one say about the City of Light that has not already been said...?
More views of Paris one copy-paste away in my Gallery at http://westonwestmoreland.com/collections/paris
Weston Westmoreland.
Uploaded
September 26th, 2020
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Viewed 133 Times - Last Visitor from Ottawa, ON - Canada on 03/25/2024 at 4:31 PM
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