Read the Signs: Rue de Lutèce

 
Read the Signs: Rue de Lutèce

The road of light in the 4th arrondissement of Paris.

Rue de Lutèce, in Paris’ ile de la Cité, is a wide pedestrian street running from the flower market (great place to find original souvenirs) to the prefecture quarters. From 1784, it was known as Passage de la Madeleine. It was widened and made more symmetrical in the 1860s, and in 1880 it was renamed Lutèce, after Lutetia, the original Gallo-Roman town where Paris now stands. Academics disagree on the location of the Parisii Gallic tribe’s capital, but some place the main settlement on the Île de la Cité, where major trading routes crossed the river: Farmers and animal breeders have lived here since 4,500 BC but they probably lived in small wood and clay villages that could be dismantled, moved and rebuilt. Retracing their origins is made more difficult by the likely fact that the occupants burned any access structures to keep the Romans away. During excavation work for the metro on Rue de Lutèce in 1906, a Roman building with a hypocaust (early central heating system) was discovered near the northern façade of the Cité barracks. In any case, when you stroll along the delightful Rue de Lutèce you can be certain to be walking in the footsteps of history that is measured not in centuries but in millennia.

From France Today Magazine

Lead photo credit : Paris_IV_rue_de_Lutèce_© Mbzt � WikiCommons

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Sylvia Edwards Davis is a writer and correspondent based in France with a focus on business and culture. A member of the France Media editorial team, Sylvia scans the cultural landscape to bring you the most relevant highlights on current events, art exhibitions, museums and festivals.

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