In 1793, the Convention abolished the Royal Academies, remnants of the monarchy. To fill the void left by their suppression, the Institut national de France was created two years later, on October 25, 1795, in application of the Constitution of the Year III which entrusted to it for mission "to collect the discoveries, to perfect the arts and sciences". Minerva, goddess of wisdom, intelligence and reason became the emblem. Initially installed at the Louvre, this "parliament of scholars" was transferred in March 1805 by Napoleon I, a member of the Institute, to the former Collège des Quatre-Nations. It had been created according to the will expressed in 1661 by Cardinal Mazarin to welcome young people from the four nations newly annexed by France (Pignerol, Alsace, Artois and Roussillon). Designed by architect Louis Le Vau, the building is very original, as evidenced by the half-moon facade on the Seine and the dome of the old chapel, circular on the outside and oval on the inside. Ther
Access
Métro Louvre-Rivoli / Pont-neuf / Odéon
Website
http://www.instiuttdefrance.fr
Phone
01 44 41 44 41

Address
23 quai de Conti 75006 Paris, Paris, Île-de-France, France