Palais de la Porte Dorée

The Palais de la Porte Dorée is defined by its massive exterior bas-relief, a stone tapestry spanning over one thousand square meters across the front of the building. Designed by sculptor Alfred Janniot for the nineteen thirty-one International Colonial Exhibition, the intricate carving depicts ships, wildlife, and allegorical figures representing the French colonial empire. A team of twenty Italian stonecutters, known as scalpellini, worked for two years to complete this monumental facade.