Madeleine bombing

Fifty-two massive Corinthian columns surround the Eglise de la Madeleine, giving it the appearance of a Greek temple dropped into the heart of Paris. Napoleon Bonaparte ordered its construction in eighteen oh six, intending it to be a Temple of Glory dedicated to his Grande Armee. When the tide of war turned against him, the structure sat unfinished for years. It finally opened as a Catholic church in eighteen forty-two, though its design remains entirely pagan in spirit.