Paris1972-Versailles2003

We have come quite often to Nantes, a City that needs to be visited more by all. A wonderful historical city with many monuments to see, many wonderful properties. I was again on my local road warrior mode and as bit not back, decided to give it a refresher to this must to visit City of Nantes, Loire-Atlantique dept 44 of the Pays de la Loire region,in my belle France ; even if old Bretagne! Do read my previous posts on the city as well, For now let me tell you about a wonderful window shopping at least ! This is the Passage Pommeraye of Nantes, part II !!! Hope you enjoy the post as I.

Between lower town and high town, between Bourse and Théâtre, between Place du Commerce et Quartier Graslin, grafted on rue Crébillon whose flow of pedestrians it captures and located in the heart of a very dense urban island, the passage Pommeraye was inaugurated in July 3, 1843. The passage Pommeraye is a shopping mall in the city center of Nantes, its peculiarity was to be built on a land with a steep gradient. It extends on three levels distributed by a central staircase. If its construction resulted in the ruin of its promoter, Louis Pommeraye, the passage, considered an architectural success, remained a flourishing place of commerce.

It connects the Rue de la Fosse to the Rue Santeuil and the Rue du Puits-d’Argent, putting a hyphen between the district of the Place du Commerce and that of the place Graslin.  It has a level difference of nine meters, and is organized on three levels, around a monumental central staircase: at the lower level, the Galerie de la Fosse opening onto the rue de la Fosse.  At the intermediate level, the  Galerie Regnier a mezzanine connected on its north side to the Rue du Puits-d’Argent by a lateral gallery. On its southern side, leads to the Passage Coeur de Nantes. At the upper level, the Galerie Santeuil opens onto the rue de Santeuil.  The passage Pommeraye is a private space, closed to the public during the night by wrough iron grill doors.

Since May 2016, the passage Pommeraye has been twinned with the Saint-Hubert Royal Galeries of Brussels, dating from 1847. The two participated in the Association Passages et Galeries Historiques in Europe, created in September 2019, in order to promote and keep, or even restore thirty remarkable passages in Europe. Webpage : https://euroarcades.eu/les-passages-et-galeries/

Nowadays, there are none of Pommeraye’s original shops. The last to have put the key under the door is the Brichet armory. At the opening of the gallery in 1843, no less than 66 luxury stores settled in the passage. Among them, the Gaillard and Cie chocolateries embalmed the atmosphere of their chocolate perfumes. A hotelier, close to chocolateries, had complained against the factory for the nuisance caused by odors, smoke and steam. In the 1920s, Ms. Moreau held a shop where she sold her dactylographer services. More recently, some Nantes still remember the Beaufreton bookstore, which did not hesitate to sell these textbooks at a high price. This practice earned them the nickname « Beau fripon ».or beautiful fripon. The passage Pommeraye is not just a place of commerce. Even today, it is a place in which we venture to stroll and admire the architecture and the neat stores. The bourgeois took advantage of the mirrors who reflected their good condition. It is even said that dandys were walking their pets on a leash!

The interior architecture of the passage is different depending on the galleries. This can be explained by sharing tasks between the two architects. The upper part (Santeuil gallery) is probably inspired by the Vivienne gallery in Paris, the lower part (Galerie de la Fosse) presents the narrowness and simplicity of the most modest Parisian passages as the passage of the panoramas). On the other hand, the central part and its four floors are treated in a particularly original way. In addition to its rich sculpted decor, it should be noted the treatment of the capitals of the 16 columns rising on two levels, perhaps inspired by those of ancient Persia (Iran). The decoration of the canopy of the Santeuil gallery, divided into four equal parts by arcades decorated with stucco representing plant patterns of paradise and tangled lianas. The breeches located between the windows of the Santeuil gallery, a series of eight medallions representing celebrities of the region. In terracotta the statues of the second and third levels: allegories surrounding the stairs, representing trade, industry, agriculture, fine arts, spectacle, science and maritime trade.The floor of the three galleries is tiled . To mark the continuity between the street and the passage, a band of dark tiles, 0.50 meters from the edge, draws a fictitious sidewalk, which follows the dropouts of the storefronts. Between the city’s public space and the private space of the passage, there would be almost no difference. Superbe !!!

The Official Passage Pommeraye: http://www.passagepommeraye.fr

The Nantes tourist office on the Passage Pommeraye: https://www.levoyageanantes.fr/en/places/passage-pommeraye/

There you go folks, do visit Nantes,and its wonderful monuments, A must to visit while in the city ; back to the memorable Passage Pommeraye of Nantes, part II !!! Again, hope you enjoy this post as I.

And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!