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A passage to romantic elegance: the Galerie Véro-Dodat
by Gina Doggett
Galerie Véro-Dodat, the most elegant
and enchanting of the 20 or so remaining passages de Paris-and easily
my favorite-is tucked away between the Rue du Bouloi and the Rue
Jean-Jacques Rousseau, just a stone's throw from the Louvre.
The least frequented and perhaps loveliest
of all the passages, or covered arcades, the Galerie
Véro-Dodat's uniform storefronts have been meticulously
maintained, presenting two series of gleaming narrow copper arches,
with mirrors and faux marble columns at regular intervals flanking a
black-and-white tiled floor. Gaslights were placed above the mirrors
for best effect in the days before electricity. In the roof, skylights
alternate with empire-style paintings depicting ancient allegories.
Peek in at Robert Capia's antique doll shop and the prestigious R et F
Charle, restorer of fine stringed instruments, and stroll among the
handful of antique shops and art galleries.
In its heyday in the first half of the 19th
century, Galerie Véro-Dodat (built in 1826 and named after its
owners, a pair of charcutiers) was part of a series of passages running
from Les Halles to the Palais Royal, and beyond to the Bourse, shopping
and theatre district of the 2nd and 9th arrondissements.
At the time, the passages were a fashionable
means of staying dry and relatively clean, since sidewalks were a
notion of the future. The triangular area at the Rue Bouloi end of
Galerie Véro-Dodat was where the stagecoaches of the Messageries
Laffitte et Gaillard mustered before galloping off with the mail to all
the corners of Europe.
Today, the horses long replaced by the
railroads, there are rarely many visitors here, making it easier to
evoke the spirit of Alfred de Musset, the lovelorn playwright who was
said to have returned week after week to read his plays to the actress
Elisabeth Rachel Felix.
Known simply as Mademoiselle Rachel, she
lived in a third-floor apartment above the Galerie Véro-Dodat
from 1838 to 1842. Rachel, credited with reviving interest in classical
theatre while romanticism was all the rage, was one of the string of
loves wooed by the alcohol-sodden Musset after his tempestuous
relationship with George Sand, that irrepressible romantic feminist
born well before her time.
Useful Information
PASSAGE VEROT-DODAT
19, rue Jean-Jacques Rousseau
75001 Paris
Read Gina Doggett's feature on The Pont des Arts.
Copyright (c) 2007 - www.paris-hotel-by-district.com CH. All rights reserved.
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