10/9/2019 Tempus Edax, Homo Edacior
Tempus edax, homo edacior; which I should be glad to translate thus: time is blind, man is stupid. Victor Hugo, The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, Book 3, Ch. On April 15, 2019, the world beheld a mournful spectacle in Paris as the fading light of day was pierced with raging tongues of fire that were consuming the fabled cathedral of Notre Dame.
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The Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris is one of the most visited monuments in the world and the news of its destruction due to a fire that broke out in the late afternoon, has quickly gone around the world.The historic building was celebrated among others by Victor Hugo in his “Notre-Dame de Paris”. Re-reading now the pages of the novel published in 1831, an incredible prophecy seems to lie between his pages we read a detailed description of a fire inside the cathedral “ A great flame between the bell towers“. And speaking of man’s neglect he thundered like this: “ The time is blind and the man is foolish“, with implication to the fire that struck the cathedral built in 1163, of which the restoration of the roof is being blamed.
It is precisely the importance of protecting a work of this kind that led Hugo to raise awareness among Parisians so that the cathedral could be restored. In the nineteenth century, when Victor Hugo wrote his novel, the Parisians considered the Gothic buildings almost of monstrosities, it was only thanks to his novel and his campaign of awareness on the destiny of the church, writing an editorial where he declared war to the “demolishers”, that the restoration started.And the story of the hunchback of Notre-Dame and of Esmeralda that made entire generations dream, contains a much stronger meaning in relation. The deformed Quasimodo, ugly on the outside but with a great inner richness, was nothing but a humanised metaphor of the Cathedral.Re-reading those pages now, looking back at the carelessness of man, we read an incredible prophecy: “ Without doubt it is still today a majestic and sublime building, the church of Notre-Dame of Paris. But, however beautiful it has been preserved as it ages, it is difficult not to sigh, not to be indignant at the degradation, at the incalculable mutilations that time and men have inflicted on this venerable monument On the face of that old queen of our cathedrals, a scar is always be found next to a wrinkle. Tempus edax, homo edacior.
What I would willingly translate: Time is blind, man is a fool “. What’s more, the writer in the beginning of his novel had imagined a devastating fire inside the cathedral that he described: “ All eyes had risen to the top of the church, what they saw was extraordinary. At the top of the highest gallery, higher than the central rose window, that is mounted between the two bell-towers, with whirlwinds of sparks, a great disorderly and furious flame of which at times the wind carried away a limbo in the smoke Under that flame, under the balustraded dome cut in embers of embers, two gutters made with the jaws of monsters, they ceaselessly spewed out that fiery rain whose silvery roar stood out in the shadow of the lower facade”.
IStockThe cathedral was structures built with exterior flying buttresses. They were constructed around its nave in the 12th century to lend support to the thin walls, after the need for more light in the incredibly tall church larger windows, and thus greater supports. The exposed flying buttresses became an iconic aspect of Gothic design, and although there's over whether Notre-Dame was the first church to have them, they certainly set the trend in sacred architecture. Twenty-Eight Of Its Kings Lost Their Heads In The French Revolution.In 1793, in the midst of the French Revolution, 28 statues of biblical kings in the cathedral were pulled down with ropes and decapitated by a mob.
(King Louis XVI was guillotined earlier that year, and any iconography tied to the monarchy was under attack.) The mutilated stones were eventually tossed in a trash heap, which the Minister of the Interior dealt with by the material be repurposed for construction. It wasn't until 1977 that the heads of 21 of these kings were during work on the basement of the French Bank of Foreign Trade. Now they're at the nearby. The Towers Are Not Twins. Jerusalem is a coveted burial spot, but the ancient city is running out of space to bury the dead. In 2015, the Jerusalem Jewish Community Burial Society with a construction group to bore beneath a mountain in the city’s largest cemetery, Har Hamenuchot, and create a massive underground necropolis that will house 22,000 crypts. The plan is to create burial spaces arranged floor-to-ceiling in a network of intersecting tunnels—a little like the ones that first graced the Middle East thousands of years ago.
The first section of the modernized catacombs is set to open in.Here are seven of the most beautiful and historically fascinating catacombs from elsewhere in the world. Rome CatacombsCatacombs originated in the Middle East about 6000 years ago and spread to Rome with Jewish migration. Early Christians modeled their burial practices on Jewish customs, although they were forced by Roman rules to bury outside the city limits. Since land was expensive, they went underground, digging an estimated 375 miles of tunnels through Rome's soft volcanic tuff, and building networks of rooms lined with rectangular niches called loculi.
Later, more complex tombs included cubical (small rooms that served as a family tomb) and arcosolia (large niches with an arch over the opening, also used for families). Both were often decorated with religious frescos, gold medallions, statues, and other art.
The beauty wasn’t just for the dead but for the living, who congregated there to share funeral meals and mark death anniversaries. (The idea that persecuted Christians secretly worshipped there, however, is a.)By the early 5th century, barbarians had invaded Rome and began ransacking the tombs, so the remains of interred saints and martyrs were moved to more secure locations in churches around the city. The catacombs were forgotten for centuries, until miners accidentally rediscovered one under the Via Salaria in 1578. That set off a rush for relics (often of ). Today, Rome’s 40-odd catacombs have been stripped of bodies, but the ancient frescoes and winding passageways make them well worth a visit. Paris Catacombs. Michelle Reynolds/iStock via Getty ImagesThey weren't the first, but the might be the most famous in the world, and little can compete with them for sheer macabre glamor.
Created by the Romans as limestone quarries to build the city above, their current use dates from the late 18th century, when overcrowded cemeteries around the city sparked public health concerns. (One of the worst offenders was Saints-Innocents, in use for almost a millennium and overflowing with corpses, which wasn’t so great considering its proximity to the popular Les Halles market).
Starting in the late 18th century, officials took charge of the situation by relocating the bones—from an estimated six to seven million people—to the former quarries, which were specially blessed and consecrated for that purpose.The catacombs were opened as a public curiosity in the 19th century, and today visitors can see the bones piled into. (One design is shaped like a keg, another like a heart.) Other attractions include an underground spring, a sepulchral lamp, sculptures created by a quarryman,. Only part of the roughly 200 feet of tunnels is open to the public, although that hasn't stopped intrepid urban explorers, artists, and thieves from journeying to the off-limits sections. In 2004, Parisian police discovered a set up inside one area, complete with a bar. Catacombs of Kom el ShoqafaA series of tombs tunneled into the bedrock beneath Alexandria starting in the second century, the catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa ('Mound of Shards') were forgotten until 1900, when a donkey fell into an access shaft. Today the three levels of catacombs are open for visits, and include several giant stone coffins as well as carvings, statues, and other archeological details melding Roman, Greek, and Egyptian styles. On the second level is the, said to contain the remains of young Christian men (and at least one horse) massacred by Caracalla in AD 215.
Palermo Capuchin Catacombs. Flickr and //In the 16th century, the Capuchin church in Palermo, Sicily, began outgrowing its cemetery and the monks got the idea of their dead brethren and putting them on show in the catacombs instead. At first only friars got this special treatment, but the practice caught on and local notables began asking for the honor in their wills.
Roughly 12,000 people have since been embalmed and arranged for display according to demographic—the categories include Men, Women, Virgins, Children, Priests, Monks, and Professionals. Burials didn't stop until the 1920s, and one of the most famous inhabitants is also among the last—the beautiful. Rabat Catacombs, Malta. //Beneath the modern city of Rabat, Malta (once the of Melite) lies an extensive system of rock-hewn underground tombs dating from the fourth to the ninth century AD.
Unlike most other catacombs throughout the Mediterranean—and indeed the world—the tunnels were used to bury Jews, Christians, and pagans, without noticeable divisions among the groups.Features include large tables used for ceremonial meals commemorating the dead and canopied burial chambers, some of which have been inscribed with illustrations and messages (archeologists are still working to interpret the site). Major catacomb complexes in Rabat include those of St. Agatha and Tad-Dejr. Stephen's Cathedral, Vienna.
Douglas Sprott, //The mother church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vienna, St. Stephen's Cathedral is one of the most important buildings in the city, known for its gorgeous multi-colored tile roof (and for being the site of Vivaldi's funeral). But fewer tourists visit the crypt, where the remains of more than lie.Although most of the current cathedral dates to the 14th century, the crypt originated after an outbreak of the bubonic plague in the 1730s, when cemeteries around Vienna were emptied in an effort to stem the tide of the disease. Many of the skeletons were piled into neat rows, skulls on top, although visitors to some areas will also see disorganized piles of bones. In one section, the ducal crypt, the organs of princes, queens, and emperors are stored—including Hapsburg Queen Maria Teresa's stomach. Brno Ossuary. //A routine archeological dig as part of a construction project in 2001 led to an unexpected discovery in Brno, the Czech Republic—a long-forgotten underground charnel house crammed with skeletons.
An estimated of remains had been stuffed beneath St. Jacob's Square during the 17th and 18th centuries, originally stacked in neat rows but later jumbled by water and mud. The site opened for public viewing in June 2012, and today it’s the second-largest (known) ossuary in Europe, after the Paris catacombs.This list first ran in 2015 and was republished in 2019. ParlierPhotography/iStock via Getty ImagesIn 1969 the world’s largest retailer, Sears Roebuck and Company, decided they needed an office space for their roughly 350,000 employees. Four years, 2000 workers, and enough concrete to build an eight-lane, five-mile highway later, the 110-story was complete. (In 1988, Sears moved out of the building; 21 years later it was renamed the Willis Tower after global insurance broker Willis Group Holdings.) As a memorable finishing touch, 12,000 construction workers, Chicagoans, and Sears employees signed the building’s final beam. Bank of China Tower // Hong Kong.
Shansekala/iStock via Getty ImagesWhen famed Chinese architect I.M. Pei was tasked with designing this 70-story structure, he was dealt a number of challenges. He needed to craft a tall building (it stands at 1209 feet) in a typhoon zone and that was pleasing to local residents.
His masterpiece—opened in 1990 after a five-year construction—is supported by five steel columns meant to resist high-velocity winds, and is by bamboo shoots, which symbolize strength and prosperity. Chrysler Building // New York City. IStockA mere 11 months after it gained the title of tallest building in the world in 1930—thanks to the last minute addition of a 186-foot spire—this art deco wonder its title to the. But it has long been known as one of the world’s prettiest structures. When automobile tycoon Walter P. Chrysler took over financing, he strove to add glamour to New York’s East Side. The design already featured a multi-story section of glass corners and a stainless steel crown, but he requested addition of eagle-esque designed like the hood ornaments on his cars.
The Gherkin // London. YolaW/iStock via Getty ImagesKnown informally as 'The Gherkin' for its, 30 St. Mary Axe was dreamed up after a 1992 explosion in London’s financial district destroyed the Baltic Exchange building. Plans for the original design—the much taller Millennium Tower—were scrapped for fear it could affect air traffic into the Heathrow Airport and the sightlines of St. It turns out that the pickled inspiration was a winner; when the cylindrical building opened in 2004, it gained quick notoriety, and was soon used as a symbol for London on for the 2012 Olympic Games. Petronas Twin Towers // Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Fazon1/iStock via Getty ImagesWhen crafting this hotel and casino, the Hong Kong architects didn’t take any chances. The $385 million structure, which opened in 2008, was built to resemble a bottleneck—the idea being that it would keep any cash from leaking out, according to feng shui. The outlandish exterior, meanwhile, was intended to look like a combination of crystals, fireworks and the plumes of a Brazilian headdress—all thought to symbolize prosperity. Empire State Building // New York City. LynnSheng/iStock via Getty ImagesThis 101-floor behemoth was destruction. There are fireproof floors, wind dampeners, and a glass skin to protect against lightning.
(It can reportedly survive a magnitude 8 earthquake.) The building has also weathered adversity. Slated for construction in 1997, progress was delayed due to the Asian financial crisis before it was finally completed in 2008. And the initial design, which featured a circular opening at the top rather than the now rectangular one, had to be reconfigured when critics complained it too closely resembled the rising sun on the Japanese flag.
Tapei 101 // Tapei, Taiwan. RedfoxCa/iStock via Getty ImagesIn a bid to demonstrate the strength of Canadian industry, railway company Canadian National set out to build the in the world. For 40 months, 1537 workers toiled 24 hours a day, five days week, reaching completion in April 1975. (A 10-ton helicopter dubbed 'Olga' was commissioned to bolt the 44 pieces of the antenna in place.) In 1995, the American Society of Civil Engineers deemed it one of the of the Modern World, but 15 years later, its height was surpassed by China’s Canton Tower.
Burj Khalifa // Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Dblight/iStock via Getty ImagesAt 2716 feet ( the height of the Empire State Building!) and half a million tons, the gleaming holds a number of records.
Among them: tallest building in the world and the tallest freestanding structure. The $1.5 billion, state-of-the-art mega skyscraper was designed by the same firm that dreamt up the Willis Tower and New York’s One World Trade Center, and it in 2010 after six years of work. The opening ceremony featured a light and water effects show and some 10,000!This article has been updated for 2019.
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