Situated on the hills of Montmartre, the Parisian district familiar to a new generation through the movie ‘Amelie’ and the highest point in Paris, the shimmering white 19th century Sacré Cœur Basilica, or Sacred Heart, towers over Paris with its three elongated white domes and provides wonderful views of the city. 
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Thanks to VR photographer Laurent Thion, you can now take a Virtual Tour of Sacré Cœur Basilica (säkr?-kör') with 10 fullscreen panoramas, accessible from a friendly interface showing the location of each pano on an architectural diagram of the church, along with some descriptive info, which is, unfortunately, only available en Français.
Thion was commissioned for the project by the French TV producer le Jour du Seigneur, the oldest radio and TV producer in France, which has been making Catholic broadcasts since 1948. This terrific virtual tour includes two panoramas taken from the dome, overlooking Paris, which offer a panoramic view extending over 30 km. One pano is to the south and the other to the east and both are truly magnificent, and unusual for their clarity. Thion did the shoot on a cold, windy day but - the very reason that the visibility in the panos is so good without the usual smog and pollution. Another favorite pano shows the view from the altar, where you can look up to the mosaic of Christ in Majesty in the apse, said to be one of the largest in the world.
Sacré Cœur, usually described as Romano-Byzantine in style, was conceived as a symbol of thanksgiving at the end of the Franco-Prussian War in 1870, when people all throughout France donated what they could do have it built, which turned out to be not quite enough. The government took over funding in 1873 and the architect Abadie was chosen from a competition. The first stone was laid in 1875 and when Abadie died in 1884 only the foundation was complete. The Basilica was finally completed in 1914, at a final cost of 40 million francs and has become a landmark in the north of the city and a popular tourist attraction.
The basilica is believed to sit on the site where Saint Denis, the city’s patron, was beheaded in the 3rd century. Legend says that upon being slain, the bishop Denis picked up his severed head and carried it several miles to the north where the city of Saint Denis stands today. Like many other Christian sites, Druids worshiped on this very spot and it was a site for early Christian churches. The St. Pierre de Montmartre, a 6th century Parisian church, still sits next to the Basilica.
The Basilica is dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Christ and many believe that its crypt contains Christ’s sacred heart. It was built of Château-Landon (Seine-et-Marne) stone, a frost-resistant travertine that constantly weathers out its calcite, so that it bleaches with age to a chalky whiteness, thus making it more beautiful as time goes on. Behind its dome rises a bell tower 84 m (276 ft) high with a 19-ton bell that can be heard for some distance and the statues on its façade are the bronze equestrian statues of St. Joan of Arc and St. Louis with a statue of Christ raising his hands in blessing. The interior is beautifully decorated with mosaics and a lovely figure of the Virgin and Child.
Shoot Details:
Thion: All points of view were shot very quickly between 8 and 11.30 am February 16, 2005. This job was planned for three days but the weather was fine only on the 16th; the day before was used for synchronization. The temperature was very cold (-2 centigrade, 28.4 degrees Fahrenheit) and there was a lot of wind on the roof... but it's for this reason that there is a very good visibility without smog and pollution!
The most difficult postproduction was "Le Dôme" because there was too much contrast between the direct sun and shadows with tags. Forty-five bracketed pictures were used for this pano.
Hardware: Nikon D70 + 10.5 and modify 303sph Manfrotto
Software: Nikon capture, Realviz Stitcher, Photoshop and CubicConveter.
The book, 'Assembling Panoramic Photos: A Designer's Notebook',which Laurent Thion collaborated on, is now available in English. Read the book review here.
