3 centuries were necessary to build this bible of stone, the true icon of this medieval neighborhood. Its long restoration is coming to an end, revealing all its grace, in the smallest details…
Speaking of details, will you be able to find where Aristotle is hiding, trapped by the beautiful Phyllis? Not far from the imposing astronomical clock, a dog is chasing a hare, but where exactly? And where is the blueprint of the church, drawn on the ground? As for the façade, why all the niches are empty and the statues hammered?
Let’s embark on a mystical, mysterious odyssey through this impressive Gothic monument, seat of the cradle of Christianity in France, once an independent district, protected behind heavy walls. You are going to feel blessed!
Fourvière comes from the Latin forum vetus which means old forum. The term “forum” takes us back to Roman times when in 43 BC, Lucius Munatius Plancus, Julius Caesar’s lieutenant, founded the city of Lugdunum on the heights of the hill. Some time later, the emperor Augustus, realising the strategic position of the city, made it the capital of the 3 Gauls, a distinction whose consequences were resounding for the economy, demography, architecture and the arts. Proof? As early as 15 BC, gold and silver coins were minted in Lugdunum, just as in Rome.
Let’s go for a walk among the vestiges of this ancient Roman colony; let’s visit the theater, approach the odeon, the thermal baths, one of the 4 aqueducts: you will then understand why at the time all roads led to Lugdunum!
Since the Renaissance, Lyon has been the undisputed silk capital of Europe; after the Revolution, the engineer Joseph Marie Jacquard invented a loom that worked with a punch card system, as computers would, 200 years later! New buildings were erected on the hill to house hundreds of these new looms. The hill hummed like a beehive, hence its nickname: the hill that works.
Come downstairs with me – this visit will leave you under the charm of Lyon. From the plateau, the Montmartre of Lyon, you will discover the typical manufactured architecture of the Canuts, which has earned the neighborhood a place on the World Heritage List, breathtaking views over the city, the typical traboules, stories full of emotion…. You will lose your heart in Croix-Rousse…
