NOTRE DAME, REBORN

INSIDE THE RESTORATION OF THE QUEEN OF FRENCH CATHEDRALS

RSI SSR (22 MIN), RTS SSR (11 MIN)

Full film on YouTube, multi-language captions (22 min)

Versione integrale in italiano – Falò RSI (22 min)

Version française – Mise au point RTS (11 min)

The Notre-Dame de Paris fire, on April 15, 2019, destroyed the medieval roof, part of the vault, and the 19th-century spire commissioned by architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc.

Four and a half years after the fire, the reconstruction site is moving swiftly toward reopening, thanks to the substantial donations received from around the world—about 850 million euros—and the desire to “give the cathedral back to the world,” as stated by its chief architect, Philippe Villeneuve.

“This project has something wonderful: there is a true Notre-Dame spirit! I’ve never seen a place where people come from such diverse backgrounds, religions, and countries, and yet work together with a single goal,” says Villeneuve.

The long and complex days of the approximately 500 workers—masons, carpenters, sculptors, restorers, architects, and engineers—who could be present inside the cathedral at the same time, have borne fruit.

The old queen of French cathedrals has reopened its doors, once again astonishing faithful and visitors alike with its vault soaring 35 meters above the ground.

DECEMBER 2023

Direction
Davide Mattei

Images
Sébastien Sauvan-Magnet, Mathieu Le Bivic, Romain Calvetti, Guillaume Brunet

Montage
Anne Thillet

Production
Mammut Productions