Home      Discussion      Topics      Dictionary      Almanac
Signup       Login
Capitole de Toulouse

Capitole de Toulouse

Overview
The Capitole de Toulouse is the seat of the municipal administration of the French
France
France , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...

 city of Toulouse
Toulouse
Toulouse is a city in southwest France on the banks of the River Garonne, 590 km away from Paris and half-way between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. With 1,102,882 inhabitants as of Jan...

.
The Capitouls (governing magistrates) of Toulouse embarked on the construction of the original building in 1190, to provide a seat for the government of a province growing in wealth and influence. The name "Capitole" referred not only to the Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea, it became one of the largest empires in the ancient world....

 Capitol
Capitoline Hill
The Capitoline Hill , between the Forum and the Campus Martius, is one of the seven hills of Rome. By the 16th century, Capitolinus had become Campidoglio in Italian. The English word capitol derives from Capitoline...

 but also to the capitulum which was the chapter of the governing magistrates.

In the 20th century, the structures surrounding the vast (2 hectares) Place du Capitole were redesigned.
Discussion
Ask a question about 'Capitole de Toulouse'
Start a new discussion about 'Capitole de Toulouse'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum
 
Quotations

It's rare that you see an artist in his 30s or 40s able to really contribute something amazing.

At age 29, as quoted in Playboy (February 1985)

The Japanese have hit the shores like dead fish. They're just like dead fish washing up on the shores.

As quoted in Playboy (February 1985)

It is hard to think that a $2 billion company with 4,300-plus people couldn't compete with six people in blue jeans.

On Apple's lawsuit against him, following his resignation to form NeXT|NeXT, as quoted in Newsweek (1985-09-30)

They're babes in the woods. I think I can help turn Alvy and Ed into businessmen.

On Pixar|Pixar co-founders Alvy Ray Smith|Alvy Ray Smith and Edwin Catmull|Edwin Catmull, as quoted in TIME magazine (1986-09-01)

If, for some reason, we make some big mistake and IBM wins, my personal feeling is that we are going to enter a computer Dark Ages for about twenty years.

On the early rivalry between Macintosh and "IBM-compatible" computers based on Microsoft's DOS|DOS, as quoted in Steve Jobs : The Journey is the Reward (1987) by Jeffrey S. Young, p. 235

I feel like somebody just punched me in the stomach and knocked all my wind out. I'm only 30 years old and I want to have a chance to continue creating things. I know I've got at least one more great computer in me. And Apple is not going to give me a chance to do that.

On his expulsion from any position of authority at Apple, after having invited John Sculley|John Sculley to become CEO, as quoted in Playboy (September 1987)

Do you want to spend the rest of your life selling sugared water or do you want a chance to change the world?

A comment he made in persuading John Sculley|John Sculley to become Apple's CEO, as quoted in Odyssey : Pepsi to Apple : A Journey of Adventure, Ideas, and the Future (1987) by John Sculley and John A. Byrne

It's better to be a pirate than to join the Navy.

As quoted in Odyssey : Pepsi to Apple : A Journey of Adventure, Ideas, and the Future (1987) by John Sculley and John A. Byrne
Encyclopedia
The Capitole de Toulouse is the seat of the municipal administration of the French
France
France , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...

 city of Toulouse
Toulouse
Toulouse is a city in southwest France on the banks of the River Garonne, 590 km away from Paris and half-way between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. With 1,102,882 inhabitants as of Jan...

.
The Capitouls (governing magistrates) of Toulouse embarked on the construction of the original building in 1190, to provide a seat for the government of a province growing in wealth and influence. The name "Capitole" referred not only to the Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea, it became one of the largest empires in the ancient world....

 Capitol
Capitoline Hill
The Capitoline Hill , between the Forum and the Campus Martius, is one of the seven hills of Rome. By the 16th century, Capitolinus had become Campidoglio in Italian. The English word capitol derives from Capitoline...

 but also to the capitulum which was the chapter of the governing magistrates.

In the 20th century, the structures surrounding the vast (2 hectares) Place du Capitole were redesigned. Some of the interior of the Capitole can be traced back to the 16th century, but the current façade, 135 metres long and built of the characteristic pink brick in Neoclassical
Neoclassical architecture
Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, both as a reaction against the Rococo style of anti-tectonic naturalistic ornament, and an outgrowth of some classicizing features of Late Baroque...

 style, dates from 1750, built according to plans by Guillaume Cammas. The eight columns represent the original eight capitouls. In 1873, Eugène Viollet-le-Duc
Eugène Viollet-le-Duc
Eugène Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc was a French architect and theorist, famous for his "restorations" of medieval buildings...

 built a bell tower
Bell tower
A bell tower is a tower which contains one or more bells, or which is designed to hold bells, even if it has none. In the European tradition, such a tower most commonly serves as part of a church and contains church bells. When attached to a city hall or other civic building, especially in...

 typical of the style of northern France on top of the donjon of the building. It was in this donjon that Jean Calas
Jean Calas
Jean Calas was a merchant living in Toulouse, France, famous for having been the victim of a biased trial due to his being a Protestant. In France, he is a symbol of Christian religious intolerance, along with Jean-François de la Barre and Pierre-Paul Sirven.Calas, along with his wife, was a...

, a Protestant victim of a religiously biased trial, was interrogated.
Only the Henri IV
Henry IV of France
Henry IV was King of France from 1589 to 1610 and King of Navarre from 1572 to 1610. He was the first monarch of the Bourbon branch of the Capetian dynasty in France. His parents were Queen Jeanne III and King Antoine of Navarre.As a Huguenot, Henry was involved in the Wars of Religion before...

 courtyard and gate survive from the original medieval buildings. It was in this courtyard that the Duke de Montmorency
Henri II de Montmorency
Henri II de Montmorency , son of duke Henry I, succeeded to the title in 1614, having previously been made grand admiral. He also was governor of Languedoc....

 was decapitated after his rebellion against Cardinal
Cardinal (Catholicism)
A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually a bishop, of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and making themselves available...

 Richelieu.

A thorough redesign of the Place du Capitole in 1995 reserved the space for pedestrians. Today the Capitole houses the city hall, as well as an opera company and symphony orchestra. The Salle des Illustres contains 19th century works of art.