Despite its mythic concept and tourist slogan of City of Light, Paris is currently undergoing significant transformation by the private sector. The inspiring sight of the resulting new cultural institutions - among them the Pinault Collection, which has come home to roost in the rather pompous little pantheon known as the Bourse de Commerce - accentuates the fact that, today, even daylight comes at a price. As an architectural fantasy, the Roman Pantheon was an obligatory stop for those who set out on the Grand Tour; the miracle of its concrete vault and the poetry of its central oculus, open to both the rain and the sun, were highlights in this rite of passage. The vedutisti, such as Giovanni Panini, endlessly produced paintings of it, while modellers like Antonio Chichi produced detailed versions in cork - expensive souvenirs for wealthy nobles. Three centuries later, the fascination is as strong as ever, and in many ways Paris's Bourse de Commerce is reminiscent of the Eoman Pantheon, whose evocatory power was hailed by Tadao Ando in his editorial for Domus on the subject of light, which for him 'is a mirror that reflects the culture of place'.
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