Our Lady on fire: the questions that the fire left to an Argentine expert who was there – 20/04/2019

In a fire, unlike what happens in an accident, there is not a single moment. I'm checking now that chance put me on a balcony in front of Notre Dame Cathedral. The action of the fire causes the time to elongate, that the sounds are coupled, that the wind marks the direction and the volume of the flames. The smoke darkens the evening sun and reminds me of the fire in the English Parliament painted by Turner, and astonishment continues. Time abounds, leaden, to add the possible emotional streaks of this cathedral: Henry IV, Napoleon, the Revolution, De Gaulle. You do not see any human intervention. The rhythm is that of the flames and the collapse of the roof of the main nave is only a slow inflection, then another. Like me, many others await the demolition of the "arrow" in flames, this tower of more than 200 meters added six centuries after the construction of the cathedral. As if this could reconstitute this unique moment and thus mark the end.

The distress caused by this fire reminds me of the attack of the Israeli Embbady in Buenos Aires, when many of us went out into the street and walked silently along 9th Avenue. of Julio. Nowhere. Here, people who stand on the bridges of San Luis Island and around the island of La Cité are equally silent, even incredulous. What memory reminds you of what personal memories are related to this church? I imagine school notebooks with drawings of these two huge Gothic towers; the lessons where it would be told how an ecclesiastical court rehabilitated Joan of Arc, or the unlimited power of the ecclesiastical hierarchy in the building of the church.

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At 7:56, the morning after the fire and extinguishing flames, the Twitter account of "Move Your Church" publishes a photo of the Northern Rosette – famous 12th century stained glbad window, subject of many selfies – to show that he did not collapse. . At noon, the image was retweeted 2,300 times. It is possible that the 14 million annual tourists visiting Notre Dame see it not only the Catholic symbol but the media, popularized in networks to infinity.

As well as the neighbor Gioconda He ceased to be Leonardo da Vinci's painting to join another world, that of rootless reproduction, Notre Dame has a large part of his entity transferred. to the virtual space of convenience. Although it is clear that this fire has touched the hearts of the population, when I see the immediate reaction of donors for its reconstruction, I wonder which of the symbols – all valid – the cathedral has more impressed: if that of Catholicism, if that of the universalism that France proposes, historically, through its institutions, that it is about solidary citizenship or finally of the identification with its media power.

As an example of solidarity, I will mention the municipality of the Hungarian city of Szeged which received help from France when it was devastated by a flood a century ago and now offers 10,000 euros for reconstruction. In the same way, different intentions and collective French give considerable sums or collect collections. In exchange, more than solidarity, it seems that the notoriety in the media career of those who contribute the mostlike François Pinault and Bernard Arnault who promise 300 million euros, or the heirs of L & # 39; Oréal, Bettencourt-Meyer, which offers 200 million, and companies such as the oil company Total and Apple. For many years, even centuries, the cathedral was in poor condition. It is said that the famous Napoleon's coronation painting by Jacques-Louis David obliged the artist to include canvases and carpets that would cover the terrible state of maintenance of the church. In fact, the original frescoes have never been restored. These were times without Twitter.

Another topic to discuss is if the cathedral to rebuild must be exactly the same as the one that was standing last week. And if it were not so: should he imitate which of his different historical moments? Remember that the ceilings that had just fallen were supported by wooden beams that sometimes dated back to the 10th century and that the cover was made of lead, with an inconceivable weight for contemporary construction techniques. The 19th century interventions conducted by Viollete-le-Duc have added their own fingerprints, and it remains to be seen what level of intervention is appropriate. It is estimated that it will be necessary to train 100 stone-cutters, 150 carpenters and 200 roofers before starting to create new jobs.

Victor Hugo popularized in the 19th century at the cathedral with his character of the hunchback Quasimodo. Locked by the despotic Judge Frollo in the wooden granaries that have just burned, the hunchback lived with his three friendly gargoyles: Victor, Hugo and Laverne. This did not prevent her from falling in love with the gypsy Esmeralda, who was also isolated in the cathedral so as not to be exterminated like the rest of her community by a court decision. Any similarity of this case with that of Julian Assagne and with other contemporary forms of discrimination, ostentation, migration and catastrophe, is the responsibility of the reader.

Americo Castilla was secretary of the nation's cultural heritage in 2016. He is the author of the video that accompanies this note.