He carries (almost) the world
You may not know it, but we have our own Bordeaux ATLAS… To refresh your memory, ATLAS is one of the founding Titans of Greek mythology. He is often shown carrying a sphere, which, contrary to what you might think, is not the Earth but a celestial sphere… Why am I telling you all this?
An impressive renovation
Well, at 20-26 rue du Mirail stands a former mansion, the Hôtel Saint-François, whose architecture is surprising and lets you meet our Bordeaux Atlas holding up part of the building.
This former mansion dates from 1850 and features a figure sitting under a balcony on the edge of a cornice. Legend has it that this was a mason who, on a bet, wanted to prove he could hold a very heavy stone while his comrades sealed the balcony… he died of exhaustion.
At least that is what the legend says, because in reality the architect found the façade not impressive enough, not decorated enough, so he took Jean-Louis Fargue as a model and turned him into a sculpture… They say that this worker on the construction of the building was famous for having superhuman strength.
So if you find yourself in the area… look up and tell me what you think.
Impressive, right?
WHERE IS IT?
Visible at 20-26 rue de Mirail
