Notre Dame Cathedral got its rooster back on Saturday at a pivotal moment for the restoration of the Parisian landmark. Reimagined as a dramatic phoenix with wings of licking flame, Crane’s new Golden Rooster installation is more than just a weather vane atop a cathedral spire, the Associated Press reported. It symbolizes resilience amidst destruction after the devastating fires of April 2019. Restoration authorities also revealed that a fire protection mist system has been installed under the cathedral’s roof. Philippe Villeneuve, the lead architect who designed the new rooster, said the original rooster’s survival represented a ray of hope in a catastrophe.
“That there was hope, that all was not lost. The beauty of the (old) battered rooster expressed the cry of a cathedral suffering in flames,” Villeneuve said. Ta. He described this new work of art, which is about half a meter long and glistens in the December sun behind Notre Dame Cathedral, as his phoenix. Elaborating on the significance of the new rooster, Villeneuve said: “Since the fire, we have been working on a successor to this rooster, which will ensure that the torch will remain in the cathedral more than 96 meters above the ground as before. It is the fire of resurrection. ”
Before the rooster, a symbol of French vigilance and the Resurrection of Christ, rose to its perch, it was blessed by Laurent Ulrich, Archbishop of Paris, in the square behind the monument. The rooster (coq in French) is an emotional national emblem for the French, due to the semantics of the word, its Latin meaning. Gallus means Gaulish, Gallus It also means rooster. Ulrich imbued the sculpture with religious significance by placing sacred relics, such as fragments of Christ’s crown of thorns and the remains of Saint-Denis and Saint-Geneviève, in the hole in the rooster’s chest. Inside the sculpture was also a sealed tube containing a list of the names of around 2,000 people who contributed to the rebuilding of the cathedral.
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Philippe Jost, Notre Dame’s new head of restoration, also detailed the pioneering measures taken to protect the iconic cathedral from future fires. “We have installed a variety of fire protection systems, some of which are very innovative in the cathedral, such as an attic fogging system with oak framing and spires,” Jost said, according to the Associated Press. There are,” he said. President Emmanuel Macron, who visited the site last week to mark the one-year countdown to its reopening, announced that the original rooster will be displayed in the Hôtel-Dieu’s new museum.
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