Collège des Quatre nations
The Institut de France, home to the Académie Française, is located near the Pont des Arts, the footbridge that connects it to the Louvre Palace.
The building originally housed the Collège des Quatre Nations, whose construction, spanning from 1662 to 1680, was financed by a bequest from Cardinal Mazarin. The architect Le Vau demolished the Tour de Nesle, a watchtower on the Philip-Augustus rampart that commanded the River Seine at this point.
The eastern wing of the Institut de France stands on the site of this former watchtower. In 2015, the construction of an auditorium uncovered new sections of the rampart, including a tower and a moat in one of the Institut’s courtyards.
The Collège des Quatre Nations opened its doors in 1688 and educated 60 young nobles from Piedmont, Alsace, Artois, and Flanders for 101 years.
The institution was converted into a prison during the French Revolution, thus escaping demolition. The Institut de France was founded in 1795 but was housed in the Louvre until 1805, when Napoleon moved it to the former Collège des Quatre Nations.
Institut de France
The Institut de France stands out from other Parisian monuments with its imposing semicircular architecture.
It is indeed composed of two curved wings flanked by two identical square pavilions, which frame a central chapel surmounted by a dome adorned with Mazarin’s coat of arms.
Despite some modifications over the centuries, the building has largely retained its original plan and beauty.
At the beginning of the 19th century, the architect Vaudoyer indeed transformed the chapel into a meeting hall for the academies, while preserving the chapel’s original style and proportions.
Commonly known as La Coupole (The Dome), the church dome is a remarkable architectural feat by Le Vau.
The architect indeed succeeded in creating a dome that appears circular on the outside but is oval on the inside!
In 1846, the architect Hippolyte Lebas constructed a new wing to connect the two pavilions of the Institut de France.
This annex, which now houses the regular session rooms of the academies, was listed as a historical monument in 1862.
The chapel’s facade overlooking the Cour d’Honneur boasts an unusual double sundial, which indicates not only the morning time but also marks the equinoxes and solstices thanks to the shadow cast by the sphere at the end of its gnomon.
The section of the second sundial, located on the wall of the Bibliothèque Mazarine, which indicated the afternoon time, has since disappeared.
Bibliothèque Mazarine
The Institut de France houses one of the most comprehensive and prestigious libraries in Paris and boasts a remarkable centre for study and research.
Located in Mazarin’s private apartments, the Bibliothèque Mazarine has been open to researchers since 1643, making it the oldest public library in France.
Its collection includes not only Mazarin’s personal collections, but also thousands of volumes rescued during and after the French Revolution.
Extensive restoration work was carried out in the reading room between 1968 and 1974 to preserve and showcase this exceptional and invaluable resource.
Mazarin’s tomb
In accordance with his last wishes, Cardinal Mazarin rests in the chapel of the Collège des Quatre-Nations.
His ashes were placed in a magnificent mausoleum, created in 1693 by the sculptors Coysevox, Tuby, and Le Hongre.
This richly ornamented tomb depicts Mazarin surrounded by three allegorical bronze figures symbolising Prudence, Peace, and Fidelity, qualities that were said to be inseparable from the cardinal.
Mazarin’s coat of arms, placed above the mausoleum, is adorned with two other allegorical figures, embodying Charity and Religion.
Initially located in the Louvre, Mazarin’s tomb was transferred to the chapel of the Institut de France in 1962, where it was originally intended to remain.
French Academy
The Institut de France is considered a bastion of intellectual excellence. It regroups several prestigious academies, including the Académie Française, founded by Richelieu in 1635, the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres, and the Académie des Sciences, founded by Colbert in 1663 and 1666.
It also includes the Académie des Beaux-Arts, created in 1816, and the Académie des Sciences Morales et Politiques, founded in 1832.
The 40 members of the Académie, known as Academiciens since 1980, are elected by their peers and approved by the President of the French Republic, who is their patron. Nicknamed the “Immortals,” they are entrusted with various responsibilities, including safeguarding the French language and contributing to its evolution through the enrichment of its vocabulary.
In late September 2010, the French Academy adopted a rule stipulating that individuals over the age of 75 could no longer be elected to rejuvenate its ranks and strengthen their participation in the missions entrusted to them.
This measure echoes a similar law adopted by the French Academy of Sciences in 2002, which requires that half of the positions be reserved for candidates aged 55 or younger on January 1st of the election year.
The women of the Académie Française
The prestigious Academie currently counts eleven women among its forty members; here are a few famous names you may recognise.
Marguerite Yourcenar, the celebrated novelist, was the first female member, elected in 1980.
Jacqueline de Romilly, the Academy’s senior member until her death at the age of 97, an eminent Hellenist, was elected in 1988 while serving as President of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres.
Hélène Carrère d’Encausse, a leading expert on Russian history, joined their ranks in 1990. She became not only the third female member but also made history as the first woman to don the sword and green mantle emblematic of the Immortals. In 1999, she was honoured again by being elected Permanent Secretary of the Academy.
In 2000, Florence Delay, a renowned novelist and screenwriter, was elected to the Académie Française.
Assia Djebar, a novelist of Algerian origin, made history in 2005 by becoming the first woman of North African descent to be elected to the Académie Française. French nationality is not a requirement for admission.
The most recent member of this prestigious circle at the time was Simone Veil, elected in 2008. Simone Veil made a lasting contribution to French society, notably by advocating for the legalisation of abortion when she was Minister of Health in 1975. Her legacy extends beyond national borders: she became the first woman to preside over the European Parliament, in addition to her term on the Constitutional Council.
You may also know Sylviane Agacinski-Jospin, philosopher and writer; Danièle Sallenave, novelist and journalist, and Chantal Thomas, writer and historian.
Directions: 6th district – Place de l’Institut – No.3 Quai Conti
Metro: Pont-Neuf on Right Bank on Line 7
Coordinates: Lat 48.857223 – Long 2.336976
