Paris, France.
Bucharest, Romania. July 2010.
Bender, Transnistria. August 2010
Chisinau, Modova. August 2010
Vientiane, Laos. October 2010
Paris, France.
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So many triomphsParis, France. October 25th, 2010 |
 18 comments to So many triomphs |
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You’ve omitted the “Arch of Triumph” in Pyongyang(Link) which was – so my guide assured me – deliberately built to be slightly larger than the one in Paris…
And of course not forgetting those fine examples in the heart of Rome………
Hail Jennings, emperor of the carbon footprint!!!
The question is, why? Why do civilizations all over the world love to build these totally functionless monuments?
Triumphal arches are for parading under. It’s a good purpose, I think.
They provide other regimes something to symbolically tear down after they invade, so they function a little like the flags in “Capture the Flag” first-person shooter games.
I suspect all of the ones shown are memetic descendants of Rome, carried as far as the Far East by colonial European as the vector.
And of course there’s the Marble Arch in London
OK, if we’re going to indulge in archophilia, here’s a functional arch on the Virginia Tech campus. (Click on the 6th photo.) Besides providing something under which the band can march, it’s actually a part of the library. No need for invading regimes to tear it down.
You overlook the Bonneville.
Cheers
And you overlooked India Gate on the Janpath, New Delhi, the Janpath leading up to the Houses of Parliament.
I think all these particular ones are descendants of the one in Paris, in truth, although that one is as Dale says obviously a continuation of an older Roman tradition.
The Romanians have strong historical and linguistic ties to France, and Bucharest has long suffered from Paris-envy as a city, and has copied many Parisian things in the city. (Even CeauŠŸescu’s mad mass demolition and rebuilding of Bucharest seems a pretty obvious attempt to be Baron Hausmann if you ask me). Chisinau is a less important Romanian city to Bucharest (that history for the moment has made the capital of another country), so they needed one too to demonstrate their prowess. And Bender is in Transnistria, which is a breakaway region of that country controlled by Chisinau, so they needed one too…
The one in Vientiane is simpler. Former French colony. Not much else needed. (Vientiane is a hugely charming city, by the way. One of the highlights of my recent travels).
There is also an Arch at Valley Forge, Pa., in honor of the American Revolution….
Glorious Arch of the People’s Triumph aka The First National Bank Arch – Omaha, Nebraska http://tinyurl.com/38ft5av
Perphaps it is the colours of the photograph – but I think the one in Paris looks best.
When I went to Paris (more than 30 years ago now) there was a little museum inside of the battles of Napoleon (model soliders set out wargaming style – and so on).
Is it still there?
As for the Romans – I remember a British television series that claimed the Romans were useless because (among other things) they did not have domes (which would have come as news to the Emperor Hadrian and many others).
The media might as well say the Romans did not have arches.
Sorry, but for “all the glory that was Greece” it was the Romans who could build. It is no wonder that their works are still being copied.
They tood the ideas of many civilizations – and they developed them in a way that was both impressive and PRACTICAL (this stuff lasts).
And there is the arch at the University of Georgia. The real rumour that one shouldn’t walk under it was that it would make one impotent.
http://tinyurl.com/23nyy52
I recall taking a picture of another in Mexico City, which has a large number of monuments. Who needs them but tourists?
Perphaps it is the colours of the photograph – but I think the one in Paris looks best.
All the other photographs were taken by me, whereas the one of Paris was ripped off from the internet. When one rips off from the internet, there are hundreds to choose from, whereas with ones own photos one generally only has a small number to choose from.
Of course, I actually have been to Paris and at least seen the Arc de Triomphe in the distance this year, but I’ve made a many visits to Paris and it’s just part of the scenery. I wouldn’t think to photograph it unless I had some special reason, which I didn’t.