Pantheon

The Panthéon is a neoclassical monument located in the 5th arrondissement of Paris. In the heart of the Latin Quarter, on the Montagne Sainte-Geneviève, it stands at the center of the Place du Panthéon and is surrounded by, among other buildings, the 5th arrondissement town hall, the Lycée Henri-IV, the Church of Saint-Étienne-du-Mont, the Sainte-Geneviève Library, and the Faculty of Law. The Rue Soufflot provides a visual connection to it, extending as far as the Luxembourg Gardens. Originally intended in the 18th century as a church to house the reliquary of Saint Genevieve, this monument has, since the French Revolution, been dedicated to honoring prominent figures who have shaped French history, with the exception of military careers, which are normally commemorated in the Invalides Military Pantheon. Among those buried here are Voltaire, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Victor Hugo, Louis Braille, Sadi Carnot, Émile Zola, Jean Jaurès, Jean Moulin, Jean Monnet, Pierre and Marie Curie, André Malraux, and Alexandre Dumas, who was interred there in 2002. Germaine Tillion, Geneviève de Gaulle-Anthonioz, Jean Zay, and Pierre Brossolette were interred there on May 27, 2015. Simone Veil, accompanied by her husband Antoine Veil, has been buried there since July 1, 2018. Maurice Genevoix was interred there on November 11. 2020. The architecture notably incorporates the façade of the Pantheon in Rome, built in the 1st century BC, surmounted by a dome inspired by the Tempietto of the church of San Pietro in Montorio. The various designs of its construction, its decoration, and the inscriptions and symbols it contains allow us to trace the slow and complex development of the French nation. This monument, considered a place of remembrance, is open to the public and managed by the Centre des Monuments Nationaux (National Monuments Centre).