(ANSA) - PARIS, 17 SEPT - Notre-Dame de Paris resumes life shortly after the fire of 15 April 2019. A rich program of activities around the cathedral will be held this end of the week, on the occasion of the European Wedding Days.
Among other things, there will be free workshops organized by carpenters in charge of rebuilding the smoldering roof who will show their working techniques.
While the reopened archaeological crypt beneath the churchyard hosts a monster dedicated to Victor Hugo and Eugène Viollet-Le-Duc, the two key men of the nineteenth century who contributed to the resurrection of one of the symbolic buildings of Europe.
A new souvenir boutique has also sprung up in the churchyard, designed primarily as a "welcome place" for tourists.
The crypt is the first museum-like space so close to the cathedral to reopen after the long work of cleaning up the lead powders.
Visitors will thus be able to return to admire the Roman artefacts that occupy the center of the crypt, as well as the remains of the thermal baths.
For those who cannot physically go to the site, a virtual visit of the construction site on the Facebook and Instagram profiles, 'RebâtirNotre-Dame de Paris' is scheduled for Saturday at 12:00.
While at the Cité de l'Architecture three statues will be exhibited with the apostles San Bartolomeo, San Giuda and San Simone who adorned the spire.
Refurbished after restoration work in the Dordogne, they are the first nucleus of a set of 16 miraculous statues that will return to their place once the work is finished.
Beside them, also the bronze cock that was found on the spire recovered after the fire.
Loved by the French, the European Heritage Days present this year a limited program compared to previous editions with many virtual events.
1,500 events have been canceled in around 400 places, even if original or unusual attractions are not lacking, such as the atelier of the Bateau-Lavoir in Paris, Jean Prouvé's detachable house in Nancy.
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