Bitterroot and Bergamot

Cluny Museum, Paris, originally uploaded by Bitterroot.

I know my enthusiasm for historical places, be they the ancient trails of the Salish Indians or the strongholds of the Benedictine monks, is all due to my dad, who filled my youth with the stories of the land where I grew up. Following in his footsteps in so many ways, I love to delve below the surface of a place.

As part of our texture perspective, here indeed is history carved in stone. According to the site linked above..."what is now the Cluny Museum in Paris was the property of the Abbey of Cluny in Burgundy...on it Abott Jacques d'Ambroise had a building constructed (between 1485 and 1498) to accommodate the Benedictine monks who came from Cluny to visit the capital.

The Chapel, the ancient oratory of the abbots, is the most famous room. It has a single pillar in the center, from which the ribs of the vault fan out. Along the walls are a series of niches standing on consoles containing the statues of the d'Amboise family."

The intricate tracery of the stone ceiling vaults is unlike anything I've ever seen. This is a relatively small room, and its effect is overwhelming. Again, wondrous!

# posted by Bitterroot @ 12:52 AM