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Luxembourg Gardens
Paris, France

Photographs taken in February 2012.

The park, about 55 acres, was originally owned by the duke of Luxembourg, hence the name. The domain was purchased in 1612 by Marie de' Medici (1573-1642), mother of Louis XIII.

The gardens were laid out in Italian Baroque style - the first French garden to be influenced by the Italian Baroque. - on request of Marie de' Medici. She was of Italian descent and had spent her youth in Florence at the Pitti Palace. The Boboli gardens at this palace were the inspiration for the Jardin du Luxembourg.

The widowed queen did not get the time to enjoy her new palace and gardens for long as she was banished by Richelieu in 1625, before the palace was completed.

In 1794, during the French Revolution, the palace served as a prison. It also served as the headquarters of the Luftwaffe during the Second World War. The building currently houses the French Senate.

In the 19th century the private park opened to the public. It is the second largest public park in Paris, the largest being the Tuileries Garden. 


The palace





Italian Baroque style ..... Urns ..... Balustrade


 Banded columns





Photo taken in February 2012 when the temperature was in the low 50s.
The Garden

















 Ferdinand Victor Eugène Delacroix (1798 – 1863) was a French Romantic painter.



Delacroix  is depicted as a young man with fairly long hair looking intently into the distance and wearing a heavy coat and a scarf. The artist is French sculptor Jules Dalou (1838-1902).



Medici Fountain


The Medici Fountain was  built in about 1630 by Marie de' Medici, the widow of King Henry IV of France and regent of King Louis XIII of France. It was moved to its present location and extensively rebuilt in 1864-66.



Medici Fountain



Medici Fountain: the Greek mythological figure of Polyphemus watches the lovers Acis and Galatea.


Information source: Wikipedia (March 2012)

Photos and their arrangement © 2012Chuck LaChiusa
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