THE PLACES ROYALES OF LOUIS XIV AND LOUIS XV (URBAN HISTORY, FRANCE)

Places royales were among the most magnificent monuments erected in honor of Louis XIV and Louis XV. Unlike other public spaces, such as markets, places d'armes, or the parvis of important churches, which existed in response to specific urban functions, the places royales were conceived as settings for statues of the reigning sovereign. In contrast to the tangle of narrow streets that characterized the plans of most French cities in the late-seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, a place royale offered rare open space framed by magnificent buildings with uniform facades, and the ensemble of architecture and sculpture attested to the king's gloire. The architectural elements of the places royales of Louis XIV were generally envisioned as passive backdrops to the royal statue. In the eighteenth century, however, architects realized that by integrating the symbolic programs with certain essential urban functions they could simultaneously portray Louis XV, the Bien Aime, as a monarch who cared for his people, and provide the city with needed services.;This dissertation examines the conception and design development of projects for places royales in twenty-four cities in France from 1684 to 1774. The histories of the individual projects are presented in an appendix, and the patterns of their patronage and design are analyzed in five chapters of text: The Idea of the Place Royale, Political Factors and Administrative Procedures, The Sculpture of Places Royales, Architectural and Planning Conventions, The Place Royale and City Planning.