Nestled in the 1st arrondissement, flanked by the Bourse de Commerce and in the shadow of the Halles, the Medici Column is at once discreet and enigmatic. A genuine remnant of a vanished royal past, it is the sole vestige of the former Hôtel de la Reine (or Hôtel de Soissons), built for Catherine de Médicis in the 16th century. Declared a historic monument in 1862, it stirs curiosity and mystery.
By the end of the 1570s, Catherine de Medici, queen mother and grand patron of the arts, had a new residence built in Paris, the Hôtel de la Reine. It was in this context that the column, today known as the Médicis or the “Horoscope Column,” was raised in 1574. It wasn’t originally part of the court’s plan, but Catherine insisted on it to consult the stars, closely tied to astrology and the arts of divination.
Her astrologer Cosimo Ruggieri, whom Catherine consulted regularly, is said to have used the column as an astral observatory to conduct his predictions, with a small bridge linking the queen's chambers to the tower for easier access. The column is of Doric style and stands about 31 meters tall.
Inside sits a spiral staircase of 147 steps that leads to a small platform, once covered by a glass canopy, now replaced by a metal framework. At its base, a Latin inscription recalls the former building, accompanied by decorative motifs, such as the intertwined monograms “C” and “H” for Catherine and Henri, or fleur-de-lis.
After Catherine’s death and centuries of upheaval, the Hôtel de la Reine fell out of favor. It was demolished in 1748. But the column had already been purchased separately by Louis Petit de Bachaumont to spare it from destruction, then offered to the City of Paris on the condition that it be preserved. At the site where the palace stood, the Halle aux Blés was built first, followed by the Bourse de Commerce in the 19th century.
The Medici Column is unfortunately not open to the public, but you can admire it from the outside by strolling through the neighborhood or after an art contemporain exhibition. In the evening, light escapes from its summit, because since 2021 it has been a Philippe Parreno creation translated into light signals emanating from the work.
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Paris Stock Exchange
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