Saint-Gervais Saint-Protais Church

This is an overlooked, yet magnificent church in Paris. It is located in the Marais area, right behind the Hôtel de Ville. This is precisely where I was when I took the first photo.

Its construction began in 1494 and lasted 150 years, several delays were dues to the religious wars of the second half of the 1500's. As with many other churches, those construction delays are the reason churches are often a blend of different architectural styles.

The façade was built much later and was the very first one in Paris to display the three orders of columns: from bottom to top, you can recognize the doric style, the Ionic style and at the top the Corinthian columns. Voltaire assessed this was a masterpiece. I agree with Voltaire! How about you?