Medici Column

This hollow Doric column, attributed to the architect Jean Bullant, was erected in 1574 by order of Catherine de Medici in the courtyard of the Queen's newly constructed hotel. As the first freestanding column built in Paris, it stands 31 meters tall and 3 meters wide and contains a spiral staircase of 147 steps leading to a platform topped by a metal structure. A door then connects it to the royal apartments.

Although its exact purpose was never established, many authors believe it reflects the queen's interest in astrology: it could have served as an observation point for the sky by Cosimo Ruggieri. However, the imposing mass of the neighboring Saint-Eustache church significantly limits the visual angle.

The column then dominated the center of Paris. It could have served as a watchtower but also demonstrated the Queen Mother's omnipotence.

It likely also had a commemorative purpose, as evidenced by the intertwined letters H and C on the 18 flutes that adorn its circumference. They form the monogram of Henry II and Catherine de Medici. However, it is noted that this is the queen's monogram, composed of a distinct H and C, and not the king's, which incorporates opposing Ds in his H to form the initial of his mistress Diane de Poitiers. The decoration also includes symbols and allegories - fleur-de-lis, broken mirrors of mourning, horns of plenty - which are now difficult to see.

In the mid-18th century, the royal residence, renamed the Hotel de Soissons under Henry IV, and the adjacent column were sold separately. The writer Louis Petit de Bachaumont acquired the latter in 1748 to save it from destruction. He later offered it to the city of Paris, which only accepted the gift by reimbursing his investment. The Hotel de Soissons was demolished; on its site, the Halle aux blés was erected in 1760. In 1764, the column was equipped with a sundial, installed at 16 meters high by the astronomer Alexandre Guy Pingré, now gone. In 1812, it was adorned with a fountain, of which only the commemorative plaque and the coat of arms of Paris that surmounts it remain.

The Latin inscription reads:

"AT THE BASE OF THIS TOWER OF THE ROYAL EDIMEN THE REMAINS OF EXISTING WHICH INSIGNIFICANT WORK BY JOHANNE BULLANT, THE ARCHITECT IN THE YEAR AFTER J(I AM)•C(CHRIST) 1572 THE YEAR WAS BUILT 1749 DESTROYED AS INTO THE GRAIN THE MARKET SHOULD BE CONVERTED FOR THE USE OF CITIZENS AND THE PREFECTOR AND AEDILES HAD THE ORNAMENT OF THIS MARKET THE FOUNTAIN IN THE YEAR 1812"

In 1889, the Bourse de commerce replaced the Halle aux blés.

The column survived many threats of destruction and various architectural transformations of the neighborhood. It was classified as a historical monument in 1862.

Since June 2021, its top hosts a creation by artist Philippe Parreno. This installation transcribes in light signals the unfinished novel "Le Mont Analogue" by René Daumal. It is an application that reacts in real-time to every color variation by associating it with a sound.