Philatelic Photograph: Hôtel de Ville - Paris, France / Palazzo Senatorio - Rome, Italy

Interesting Places I've Photographed

Hôtel de Ville (City Hall)

Paris, France

and

Capitoline Hill & Palazzo Senatorio (City Hall)

Rome, Italy 

Topic; Philatelic Photographs

GPS (Paris): N48° 51.386; E002° 21.106 

GPS (Rome): N41° 53.624; E012° 28.916

Quick Description: 

The Hôtel de Ville is the home to the municipal government and the place where large receptions are held. It is located in the 4th arrondissement of Paris, on the right bank of the river Seine.

Long Description:
This site has been the location of Paris' city hall since 1357, when a building called the House of Pillars was situated in the middle of a commercial dock area. The building as we see it today dates back to 1533 when King Francis I ordered the old building razed and the construction of a new and grander city hall for Paris. The King appointed the architects Dominique de Cortone and Pierre Chambiges to design the structure. They planned a Renaissance style building modelled after a French château. The work on the building continued until 1628, during the reign of Louis XIII.

For 200 years the building remained unchanged. In 1835, Rambuteau - the préfet of the Seine département, commissioned Étienne-Hippolyte Godde and Jean-Baptiste Lesueur. to design two wings, linked by a gallery, to be added to the main building.

During the Franco-Prussian War, on 18 January 1871, a crowd gathered outside the building to protest against surrender to the Prussians. The Paris Commune occupied the Hôtel de Ville and as anti-Commune troops approached the building, Communards set fire to the Hôtel de Ville destroying the interior and leaving only an exterior shell.
Reconstruction by architects Théodore Ballu and Édouard Deperthes began in 1873 and continued until 1892. A great deal of art was added to the building. Over 230 sculptors, including Auguste Rodin, produced the 338 works of art that now decorate the building.

The stamp was issued by France on October 11, 1958. It depicts the Hôtel de Ville on the left and the Capitoline Hill and the City Hall of Rome on the right. In between is written JUMELADE (TWINNING). It was issued to foster greater cultural and economic ties between he capitals of Paris and Rome.

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The Capitoline Hill Cordonata 

and 

Palazzo Senatorio

Rome, Italy

Quick Description: 

The Capitoline Hill Cordonata leads up to the Piazza del Campidoglio in Rome.

Long Description:

The Cordonata in Rome is a sloping pedestrian pathway which has ramps with widely spaced transverse risers in place of regular steps. It leads up from the Piazza di Ara Coeli to the Piazza del Campidoglio. This area of Rome was designed by Michelangelo from 1536–1546. 

At the top of Capitoline Hill is Rome's civic center, the Palazzo Senatorio. Built during the 13th and 14th century, the Palazzo Senatorio "Senatorial Palace" is where once the Roman archives were stored. The Palazzo Senatorio now houses Rome's city hall. 

The statues leading up to the Piazza del Campidoglio represent the Dioscuri - the mortal Castor and the immortal Pollux, the mythical twins of the immortal Zeus and mortal Tyndareus. The pair are the patrons of sailors.