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Photo of the Day

March 11, 2003

Amiens, Amiens, France, 1987

Photograph by Victor R. Boswell

"Tallest nave in a French Gothic cathedral, the vaults of Amiens rise 139 feet [42 meters]. Commenced in A.D. 1220 by Robert de Luzarches, the nave took 16 years to complete. ...

"The Gothic building boom reflected an era of growing power for the monarchy, the cities, and the bourgeoisie, and the cathedrals expressed civic pride fully as much as ecclesiastical glory."

—From "The Gothic Revolution," July 1989, National Geographic magazine