Welcome! In today's documentary we tell you the story of the first Gothic cathedral built in Europe in the Middle Ages, the Basilica of Saint-Denis, near Paris, and of its creator, the abbot Suger. Of course we are still impressed by the Notre-Dame fire and for that reason we have searched and found a documentary to offer you, to deepen the meaning of the great Gothic cathedrals in European civilization. As you all remember, the Notre-Dame fire sparked mixed comments. On the one hand the deep anguish of all of us when it seemed that Notre-Dame was in danger of going all up in smoke and disappearing forever. On the other hand, the much more sober comments of many specialists who pointed out not only that in the end, fortunately, Notre-Dame did not collapse, and will be rebuilt just alike without too many problems, but also that cathedrals are used to suffering these traumas over the centuries. and they are always reborn, the same or even different. Many pointed out that the Notre-Dame that burned down was already unrecognizable compared to the one built in the Middle Ages. The most famous parts, such as the spire on the roof, disappeared in the fire, were built by Viollet-le-Duc in 1800, for example. And it is true that cathedrals are immense living bodies that over the centuries suffer injuries of all kinds who then heal and continue to live, transforming themselves it has always happened like this, since the Middle Ages itself, when in northern France there was someone who had the dream of building the tallest cathedral in the Christian world. In the small town of Beauvais a very tall cathedral was built, superior to any other known building. It collapsed, because to make it full of light they had made stained glass so immense that the walls could not hold up. But later the cathedral of Beauvais was reborn, and in 1500, after having rebuilt it all, they decided to put the highest spire in the world on it, - evidently in Beauvais they had this obsession - and they made the tallest spire in the world, 180 meters I think I remember. Of course, that too collapsed. But the Beauvais cathedral is still there, to the present day. Another cathedral, possibly the most important Gothic cathedral in France, Reims Cathedral, where kings of France were crowned. Reims Cathedral was destroyed for the most part during the first world war. It is impressive to see the photographs of 1918, to see what little remained. Today the cathedral of Reims is there, perfect, equal to the medieval one, rather it is the same, because it was rebuilt stone by stone, statue by statue, with the same stones. Notre-Dame in Paris has also seen all sort of things. You know that on the facade there are the statues, I think 22, of the kings of Israel, the kings of the Bible. But at the time of the French Revolution the revolutionaries pulled down all the statues of the kings from the facade of the cathedral and cut off their heads. But the kings are there now, redone as before. And Notre-Dame was there and will be there again in a short time, perhaps not quite identical to the one we knew before, but that's okay, because that's the nature of cathedrals. Have a good vision. Since the dawn of humanity, men have dedicated more majestic temples to the sun and its divine light. This creative impulse reached its peak in the Middle Ages, with the Gothic cathedrals and their incredible architecture with stone and glass embroidery. In 150 years the builders of cathedrals have carved, sculpted, and erected more stones than the Egyptians in 1000 years. Here are the secrets of this exceptional human and architectural adventure. In an era where anything is possible, made up of competition, innovation, intrigue, power struggles and drama. An era that has left us the most spectacular masterpieces of Christianity. Secrets of Cathedrals Saint-Denis, 10 km north of Paris. It is June 21, 1144. All the political and religious elite of the kingdom, together with numerous faithful, came to attend an extraordinary inauguration. Abbot Suger, who directs the abbey of Saint-Denis, completely rebuilt the old church. The result of this metamorphosis is an unimaginable masterpiece, for the time. When Suger inaugurates Saint-Denis, all the nobles are present, including the king. He unveils an exceptional, truly innovative building. There is something amazing, a church made of light. It is revolutionary. Proud of his unprecedented architectural feat, Abbot Suger believes that such a marvel will remain unmatched for centuries. However, unwittingly, he inaugurated a new art, later called 'Gothic' in reference to his French origins. Gothic is a revolutionary art. You build higher, bigger and more efficiently. It is the birth of a true aesthetic and spiritual universe. However, all this fabulous human and technicaladventure risked never seeing the light. To create the ideal cathedral, Suger first had to overcome the laws of gravity, thanks to innovations such as the pointed vault. The abbot also took great risks to finance such a pharaonic project. The Saint-Denis treasure is inestimable. You can say that he squanders a fortune and arouses strong criticism. Suger must also challenge one of the most powerful men in the Church, strongly opposed to his dreams of greatness. Bernard of Clairvaux sends Suger angry letters. He says that Saint-Denis is the forge of Vulcan, the synagogue of the devil. How did Abbot Suger overcome all these difficulties and where did he get the inspiration? This is the incredible story of the first Gothic cathedral and its visionary creator. Basilica of Saint-Denis At the beginning of the 11th century, Saint-Denis is a monumental church annexed to the homonymous abbey. The place about ten kilometers from Paris owes its name to one of the most powerful myths of Christianity. Saint-Denis remembers Dionysius, the 3rd century missionary saint martyred by the Romans It is said that his head was cut off on the Montmartre hill and he came here with his head in his hand, guided by an angel and a divine light. The church stands on the place where Saint Denis would have brought and then laid his head. A first church was built in the 4th century and later another church which housed the tombs of kings and queens of France. Over time, the desire of many kings of France to be buried close to the saint gave the abbey a political dimension. In the 11th century it became the nerve center of royal power, because the one who directs it, Abbot Adam, is also the first adviser to the King of France, Philip I. Saint-Denis is his fiefdom, his territory in the heart of the kingdom. The king governs with a council of bishops and abbots. But he rules a kingdom ravaged by incessant feudal wars and the resulting misery. During the 10th century, royal power gradually crumbled, for the benefit of a mosaic of lordships and fiefs, rival of the king of France. The local lords are determined to eroding royal power. The armed conflicts that sow death throughout the kingdom of France, have been going on for a long time that they end up plunging the French into deep despair. The medieval man, the 11th century man is troubled. He has lived through famine, death, tragedies that cause his faith to waver. He feels that God has abandoned him. Many think that the tragedies that beat their lands are the premonitory signs of the Apocalypse announced in the Bible by John the Evangelist. Since the year 1000 some preachers have spread the mystical terror of the Last Judgment throughout the kingdom. The day of judgment will come, they are aware of it and are preparing. The people live in anticipation of the end of the world. Suger, also called Sugerio, was born in this restless climate. History has not kept his first name. Yet this man of exceptional destiny climbs all the steps of political and spiritual power, in just 40 years, before writing one of the most glorious pages of medieval architecture. Suger's rise is extraordinary. He is a man of humble origins and suddenly we find him, at 40, in a position equivalent to that of prime minister. A career unthinkable in the medieval context. However, when Suger was born in 1081 in Chennevières-lès-Louvres, a small village near Paris, nothing suggests such an extraordinary path. Suger was born into a relatively modest family. His parents are undoubtedly farmers from the Northern Ile de France. Suger is only 10 years old when her mother tragically dies, the victim of a flu epidemic plaguing the surroundings of Paris. He and the brothers find themselves alone with their father. A burden too great for him. He makes a decision that will change the fate of his son. The father cannot take care of him and entrusts him to a monastery. He takes him to the abbey of Saint-Denis where they will give him an education. The monastic school of the famous abbey of Saint-Denis is the most prestigious in the kingdom. From one day to the next Suger passes from the rough and uncertain world of the fields to the much more solid and promising one of the most solid cultural institution of the time. The abbeys have libraries, the only places to access books. The texts circulate little because printing does not exist yet. They are copied and kept in monasteries. It is impossible to become a true intellectual if you do not have access to the manuscripts. Suger has the chance of a lifetime, to enter Saint-Denis as an oblate, that is, as a future monk. He was a very intelligent boy, and without training he would not have achieved what he did next. A model student, Suger very early adopts the norms and customs of his new world. At first he actively performed the various tasks of the abbey. Then learn to read, write and and do arithmetic with a speed that surprises his masters. Saint-Denis is a kind of nursery for talents and Suger is noted by his masters for his exceptional gifts. The reputation of Saint-Denis is excellent thanks to its immense library, which collects all the fundamental texts of the time: theology, architecture, philosophy. The boy is amazed by such a quantity of manuscripts. The young Suger reads many books and is particularly interested in those dealing with light, a crucial point of twelfth-century thinking. The adolescent's passion for light undoubtedly derives from his ecclesiastical training. Like all novices Suger spends countless hours studying the Bible. In his eyes, the Lord's present abode bears no resemblance to the descriptions he could read in the holy book. Although the old Romanesque abbey of Saint-Denis exudes a certain beauty, he is convinced that it is not worthy of the Creator. In addition, Saint-Denis presents a major problem. The absence of large windows forces priests and monks to use large quantities of candles to light it. Candles are time bombs, capable of devastating the entire building and surrounding areas. One of the main fears of the time was that churches would burn down. The churches were built for the most part in wood, in particular the skeleton and a spark was enough to ignite the structure that often supported the Romanesque structures. Risk of fire, insufficient safety of the faithful, low light. How to remedy all these problems without renouncing to offer God the most beautiful home? How to bring it from shadow to light to better glorify him? Suger cannot find an answer in the abbey's architectural treatises. Slowly the teenager caresses the dream of finding the solution to one day reunite the Creator and his faithful in a cathedral of unparalleled brightness and magnificence. In his desire for church renovation and restoration, Suger is obsessed with the idea that it resembles the New Jerusalem. In his biblical readings and in particular in the Apocalypse of John, he discovers the description of the New Jerusalem. It is an idealized view of the Lord's dwelling, the perfect, universal church, at the same time immense and flooded with light, where only pure beings will find a place. New Jerusalem represents the reference template of Suger for the church of his dreams on earth. A holy city, with golden walls, adorned with precious stones. A home made of light. It represents the reference template of Suger for the church of his dreams on earth. For the moment, even if the young man had the opportunity and the financial means, it would be absolutely impossible for him to turn his dream into reality. If you believe the measures mentioned in the Bible, the dimensions of the New Jerusalem are 4 or 5 times higher than the tallest Romanesque churches of the time. Numerous data from the Apocalypse allow us to trace the dimensions of the New Jerusalem, in particular the 144 cubits which constitute an ideal measure. In the Apocalypse they represent the 144,000 saved people. 40 is the sum of 28 lunar cycles and 12 solar cycles and we find it, for example, in the 40 columns of the cathedral of Reims or in the length of the transept of Notre-Dame in Paris. To build such a monumental church, Suger needed a new technique that would allow him to quadruple the height of the nave, otherwise, the passage from shadow to light that he so longs for will remain a chimera. But Suger doesn't imagine Providence is secretly helping him. All the conditions necessary for the accomplishment of his great work are about to occur one by one, because by studying in the most prestigious monastic school in the kingdom, the young man makes some crucial encounters for his future and for that of Saint-Denis. The first is the one with Abbot Adam, chief advisor to King Philip I, chief advisor to King Philip I, one of the most influential men in the kingdom. Abbot Adam is a very important figure for the Abbey of Saint-Denis, the administrative manager, manages the abbey possessions and is also responsible for the education of the young monks, including Suger. Abbot Adam appreciates the personality and intellectual skills of his novice. This is undoubtedly the reason why he looks favorably on his nascent friendship with another student of the abbey, the son of Philip I and future king of France Louis VI. In his journey Suger makes some providential encounters. The first occurs when he is a boy and meets Louis VI, equal in age, who is studying in Saint-Denis for a certain period. A priori, nothing suggests that Suger, coming from a modest family, could become a friend of the king. They find themselves as schoolmates, as we would say today, in the 1090s. On the one hand, Abbot Adam, on the other, the future King Louis VI. With such acquaintances and strong of exceptional intellectual gifts, Suger has all the credentials for a dazzling rise. It is the year 1112. A few years have passed in which Suger has confirmed all the hopes placed in him. Abbot Adam has long understood that he has a possible successor. Abbot Adam enhances Suger's talent and entrusts him with all the important tasks of that time. Abbot Adam also understands that Suger's speaking skills and persuasiveness can be used outside the abbey walls. The abbot entrusted him with some very important diplomatic missions, by virtue of his gifts as a negotiator. Thus began a career that will lead him to the highest peaks of power. Suger becomes an indispensable ambassador. Abbot Adam soon sends him throughout the kingdom. In the following 15 years he also represented the king at the great Europeans to weave new alliances. Suger begins to weave relationships throughout the kingdom of France and beyond. Later these relationships will be very useful to him to carry out his enterprises. Among his projects there is also the embellishment of the abbey of Saint-Denis. But a sudden event causes everything to falter. March 11, 1122. Suger is returning from a long and exhausting business trip, accompanied by faithful servants. In the evening, near Saint-Denis, the church bell suddenly begins to ring, the group knows they have almost reached the destination, but something unexpected happens. The bell rings only four times, before stopping. It is a characteristic signal, which announces the death of an important member of the clergy. Suger doesn't have time to share his uneasiness with his companions, when a horse arrives. A knight approaches and gives him news he doesn't expect, terrible news. Abbot Adam is dead. Suger is heartbroken. Even before being first advisor to the king and head of the abbey of Saint-Denis, abbot Adam was his mentor. If this disappearance is a tragedy for the monk, it is also an unexpected occasion for the man of power he is becoming. For charisma and talent Suger is the natural successor of Abbot Adam. And when the abbot dies, he takes his place. Suger becomes abbot. He also inherits all the assignments relating to the charge, including the management of the basilica of Saint-Denis. It is a consistent choice, because Abbot Adam had already entrusted him with several missions in which he had proved to be an excellent orator. He had conquered all the bishops. A very important factor. The succession to Abbot Adam earned him the direction of the abbey of Saint-Denis and pushed him to the top of royal power. Like his mentor, he also becomes the king's chief advisor, a king he knows well, because after the death of Philip I it is Louis VI who sits on the throne of France. Let's not forget that before becoming king of France, Louis VI was Suger's childhood friend, and as an advisor Suger will have a significant influence on his political decisions. And a long-cherished wish will also come true, the reconstruction of the abbey. However, construction techniques were still rudimentary at the time. The Romanesque art, the style in which all the churches were built, does not allow to reach the incredible heights of the biblical model, the New Jerusalem. Suger has to surrender to the evidence. As much as he contact the best architects and technicians of the time, no one agrees to try their hand at the construction of such a tall building. If he wants to find the solution that will allow him to carry out his grandiose project, he must take advantage of the diplomatic missions to see what is being done elsewhere. During his diplomatic travels Suger discovers Italy. Italy is a wonderful discover. Suger goes to Tuscany, then to Lombardy, meets several architects, some of whom have built splendid palaces in Venice and Rome. These trips allow him to discover many technical innovations that will soon help him realize his dream. Suger wants the walls of the church to disappear, the light to penetrate and be colored through the stained glass windows, almost as if to render a vision of the superior world, the vision of God. Opening the walls to physical light to open hearts to divine light. A truly revolutionary concept, we imagine also supported by new technical knowledge. In the first half of the 12th century, all Christian places of worship were built in the Romanesque style. This architecture forces builders to build very thick walls to be able to support the weight of the barrel vaults. The walls must be reinforced on the outside by massive triangular buttresses, to contain the pressure exerted. Without them, the building would split open and collapse. Effective system, but with some limitations. Beyond a certain height, the buttresses are no longer sufficient to contain the pressure. Another inconvenience, it is impossible to make openings in the walls without weakening them, so the windows are reduced to a minimum and the buildings are immersed in permanent darkness. If Suger wants to make his dream come true, he must find a way to lighten the load that weighs on the sides of the vault. He makes this crucial discovery, thanks to the architectural projects brought from Italy. He is fascinated by this new architecture and in particular by the ogival vault. The new technique, thanks to the use of crossed arches, allows to better distribute the weight of the vault on the walls. The ogival vault is the solution that Suger has been waiting for for years. Until then all the weight of the vault rested only on two solid walls that withstood all the pressure Now the pressure can be distributed on different ogives that rejoin in the keystone. This division of weight lightens the walls so much that they can be replaced with simple columns, create large openings and ... why not? ... try to elevate the building to dizzying heights. Perhaps Suger has found the solution to create his masterpiece and thanks to the treasures of Saint-Denis he has colossal financial means that allow him to proceed quickly. The treasure of Saint-Denis is one of the most important in Christianity. It includes, for example, gold chalices, ancient vases, reliquaries. These objects have a liturgical function, but they are also a real heritage, they have an inestimable value. When Suger becomes abbot, he finds himself administering a treasure he never imagined he would have access to. Of course Suger can't sell all the sacred objects, but he has the idea of using them to indirectly finance his project. The abbot knows that the faithful are willing to pay to see them up close and to touch them, especially the relics of saints, teeth, skulls or bone fragments. The possession of relics, especially if important, is a source of income for the church, because the relics attract the faithful who always make an offering to accompany the prayers. The offers can become very profitable for the Saint-Denis coffers. But there's a problem. Most of the objects of worship and relics are in poor condition. Suger remodels the old cult objects and transforms them into real jewels, but the operation is very expensive. For the investment to be profitable you need to be sure that it will generate many donation. Suger's imagination has no limits. To attract the faithful and their donations, he dares what no one had ever dared before, transform the mass into a grandiose spectacle. He profoundly renews the liturgical service. Mass becomes an opportunity to transform the rite into a theater. The ambitious abbot does not stop. If the humble are willing to pay to enjoy such a spectacle, the rich can too, just lure them by flattering their egos. A great project requires patrons, we see it even today. When organizing the consecration ceremonies, he invites all the powerful people in the kingdom and makes sure that everyone makes an offering. We are in 1135. Now the coffers are full. The restoration of the basilica and its transformation into the New Jerusalem can begin. More than 40 years after his arrival in Saint-Denis, Abbot Suger finally starts the project of his life, the work he dreams of since adolescence. He decides to rebuild the facade of the ancient Carolingian church at an advanced age for the time. He is 55 years old and is moving fast. Saint-Denis becomes an exceptional construction site. He must quickly procure lots of stone, lumber, and other materials. Fortunately, Abbot Suger can count on possessions capable of supplying him with most of the building materials. He hires the best craftsmen of the time, well paid, and a construction site where he can spend to get the best. The new monumental facade is to house the narthex, a sort of vestibule. It is the great intermediate space where pilgrims are welcomed, who are then distributed in the nave. It is their first contact with the building, so impressing them is crucial. Suger wants to cause an unforgettable visual shock. He wants to create an exceptional facade, a tripartite project, with two towers and niches, to show that the church also had a defensive function. The Last Judgment is illustrated in a completely new way, with the Trinity. And with statues leaning against columns, the first to represent the King of the Old Testament. Really innovative. The first phase of construction is a complete success. Once finished, the three levels of the new façade constitute an elegant transition between the Romanesque architecture and the new style imagined by the abbot. The arcades and round arches above the large portals are of Romanesque inspiration. But the tripartite vertical structure is already the characteristic of a definitely innovative style that distances itself from that of the traditional churches of the time. More eager than ever to use the new facade to impress souls, Suger goes even further and invents an architectural element of incredible complexity which inextricably combines glass and stone. The Gothic rose window is born. For the first time there is the feeling that the church, a place of worship, is a real theater, which expresses all the beauty of the world. The stained glass windows are truly extraordinary. They filter blue, golden, green lights, never seen before. Although stained glass is nothing new, Abbot Suger finds ways to innovate again, creating a shade of blues that will bear his name, obtained through a particularly expensive chemical process, that involves the fusion of silica and nitrite in large specially created ovens, capable of reaching 1500 ° C. The pasta produced is immediately colored blue thanks to the addition of cobalt. This innovation sums up by itself the desire for greatness that inspires the abbot, who stops at nothing to create his masterpiece. The construction of the stained glass windows cost 3 to 4 times more than the stone part. A considerable cost for the time. Paradoxically, not everyone likes the rose window that represents the magnificence of Gothic art. When still no one knows how the basilica of Saint Denis will look at the end of the works, Suger's boundless imagination collides with the prevailing conservatism. The innovations introduced by Suger are downright shocking in that immobile world. People are used to a certain architectural style, and suddenly this man comes along and changes everything. Even worse. Suger commits two mistakes that provoke such an outcry in public opinion as to threaten the continuation of the works. The first error concerns the sin of pride, which is difficult to forgive in a man of the church. Suger had the façade built between 1135 and 1140 and was portrayed at least twice, at the feet of Christ in the Last Judgment and in the stained glass window of the Annunciation at the feet of Mary. And so as not to be forgotten above his head he has the words "Sugerius Abas" written. By doing this, Suger attracts attacks from detractors who within the clergy begin to accuse him of dangerous megalomania. The other mistake concerns the financing of the works. The abbot did things so big that the funds are running out fast. His system of generating new revenue is no longer enough to power the huge construction site. He squanders a fortune and arouses strong criticism. Lavish ceremonies, richness of ornaments make us reflect on Suger's report on exaggeration, power, luxury. Even the man who questions the most about Suger's real motives is very influential within the Church. This man is the monk Bernard of Clairvaux, leader of a reform movement in the growth phase, the Cistercian order. Because of him the Gothic cathedrals we admire today risked not existing. Bernardo di Chiaravalle is the founder of an lost abbey in a clearing in the woods, where he reunites some mystics. They isolate themselves in a hostile territory, between the woods and the swamps, in very harsh living conditions. The lost abbey is Notre-Dame de Citeaux, in Burgundy, which gave the Cistercian order its name. There the strict rules are silence, rigor and above all poverty. Nothing should distract the monks from meditation and the word of God. Bernard of Clairvaux also wants the religious buildings to reflect the austerity of the monastic life that he invokes. The Cistercian church has no ornaments, stained glass windows, paintings, precious objects. It is totally bare. The pope is also very close to this new approach to religion and Chiaravalle becomes one of his most trusted advisors. The closeness between the two men is a catastrophe for Suger. Bernard Clairvaux's ideas gain ground and threaten his plan to build a New Jerusalem. The religious life of the time meant austerity, intimacy, but for Suger it was ostentation, pomp. It was deeply shocking. On the one hand, the magnificence of Suger. Nothing is too beautiful or too expensive to magnify the power of the Lord. On the other hand, the rapidly rising Puritan stoicism of Clairvaux. The pope must choose between these two diametrically opposed views of the Church. To make sure he prevails, Bernard of Clairvaux decides to attack Suger publicly. At that time they exchanged many personal letters, open letters destined to be disseminated to anyone. Bernard of Clairvaux is not stingy with correspondence. He is a person who tries to provoke anyway. Bernard of Clairvaux sends him strongly worded letters, accuses him of abandoning the monastic rule, of having links with the world of money, that is, of the devil. Bernard of Clairvaux criticizes the lifestyle, the behavior of an abbot who lives like a great lord. He says that Saint-Denis is the forge of Vulcan, the synagogue of the devil. The blows are hard, Suger falters. After the invectives against her sumptuous expenses and her architecture deemed too innovative, the attack on the very foundations of her enterprise threatened to give her the coup de grace. Suger loves beauty and grandeur. And in that rigorous time everything is subordinated to the idea that the religion is an interior and austere dimension. The doubt arises that Suger, a man of the church, is on the verge of sin. But how to react without definitively antagonizing public opinion? If he takes a misstep, the abbot of Saint-Denis knows that he will lose the game, and that the masterpiece of his dreams will never be realized. Suger defends himself, he does it brilliantly, writing to Bernard of Clairvaux that his only purpose is to glorify the Christian faith. The abbot of Saint-Denis has modest origins, he is not used to an aristocratic life, so when he arrives at the abbey he leads a relatively sober life. He has a poor straw mattress in a bare cell. He insists that he, as a man, does not benefit from wealth. The community, the church understood as a community of believers benefit from it. So Suger invests a lot of money not for himself but for God. To ease tensions, Suger decides to make a symbolic gesture to show Bernardo di Chiaravalle that he too is joining his cause. It therefore imposes on the monks of Saint-Denis the same rigor and the same austerity in force at the abbey of Notre-Dame de Citeaux. Things calm down, because Suger decides to initiate a reform. That is, he himself adopts a simpler style of life and imposes it on the monks. He insists on the practice of fasting. It can be said that he compromises. And this is enough to convince Bernard of Clairvaux. It's a master stroke. Now that his main detractor supports his cause, the future smiles on Abbot Suger. But as soon as this threat is averted, another one immediately appears. It is the year 1137. At the age of 56 Suger loses one of his most faithful allies, King Louis VI. His childhood companion, with whom he shared the dream of building the heavenly Jerusalem, dies due to an illness. His son, Louis VII, does not share his father's interest in church architecture. Will he oppose the conclusion of the Saint-Denis work? Suger cannot to exclude it and realizes he has to hurry. Thus a race against time is launched to complete the renovation work on the basilica as soon as possible. The next stage is also the most critical. After the excellent result of the facade, he will now know if the technical innovations he learned in Italy are as brilliant as he thinks. Suger, faithful to his grandiose dream, looks higher and higher, the nave rises towards the sky, as high as possible, with the risk of collapse that this entails. To bring the cathedral to heights never reached, Suger's builders had the idea of making the use of the flying buttress systematic. This innovation makes it possible to guarantee support for the building's elevation far beyond the old buttresses. Flying buttresses can withstand the increased pressures exerted by higher walls. They are stone arches that support the walls and absorb the thrust of the vaults. With this system, the walls are no longer load-bearing and can be replaced by stained glass windows. Suger's genius was combining the use of flying buttresses on the outside with the ogive vaults inside the nave. Unlike the barrel vaults which distribute the load on the two side walls, the ogive vaults allow the weight of the vault to be distributed over numerous arches that cross at the top. The combination of these two innovations allows the building to be raised up to 29 meters high, an unthinkable record for the time. The cathedral is considered an antechamber of paradise, thanks to the quality of its architecture and lines. In front of the facade of a cathedral one is obliged to look up to the sky, and the same thing also happens inside, guided by the stained glass windows. The other windows become monumental and are populated with ever richer stained glass windows which tell the story of Saint Denis, popes and kings and queens of France. The outlines of the building are completed and Suger can start the crucial part of the project, highlight of his most venerable relic, that of Saint Denis, because also for it he built this sumptuous casket. Unlike the other relics of the basilica, the fragments of the saint's bones are kept underground, where he was interred in the 4th century. The crypt of Saint-Denis houses a crypt with an ambulatory that allows pilgrims to walk around the tomb of the saint, going down on one side and up on the other. But the crypt is too narrow for the thousands of faithful who want to get close to the relics to venerate them. There are dramatic crowds, of which the abbot himself is a witness. Suger tells us in the first writings that the space was too narrow, that people came out of the windows, on holidays. It is said that at the time there was always a lot of crowd, they walked on each other and the only way to get out was to shout. There were so many people that after a few hours the women ended up squashed between the men and had to get them out by lifting them above the heads. Some of them ended up dying in the nearby meadow, screaming frighteningly, as if they were giving birth. How to remedy such a space problem? How to make sure that thousands of pilgrims can venerate the relics of Saint Denis in a safe and at the same time sufficiently open place? Suger and his architects soon find the solution. A tabernacle, an elevated point in the heart of the cathedral. Suger intends to raise a tabernacle about 3 meters above the level of the nave. His goal is that the relics can be seen from the moment you enter the church. They were previously in the dark crypt, are now in full light, visible to all. Suger thus responds to the expectations of the Christian people who want to see, touch and kiss the relics. It's great innovation. The faithful are in contact with the holiest object of the church. Abbot Suger is 63 when the feat of his life comes to an end, at the beginning of 1144. But before a place of worship comes into operation it must be consecrated by the ecclesiastical authorities. The consecration somehow marks the official inauguration of the new temple. Suger wants the inauguration of Saint-Denis to be remembered in the history books. Faithful to the ambition that has inspired him since the beginning of the restoration work, he once again decides to make it big. It must remain forever etched in the people's memory. On 10 June 1144, the day of the consecration of the tabernacle of the basilica of Saint-Denis, about twenty archbishops and bishops from all over France and England were invited, and cover this exceptional, definitely innovative building. A work made of light, a monumental space. A completely open space that presents the relics of Saint Denis, previously kept in the crypt. That day King Louis VII is accompanied by Eleanor of Aquitaine. They take the relics of Saint Denis and place them in the tabernacle, at the end of a majestic procession. It is not just the consecration of a religious building, it is that of a lifetime, for Abbot Suger. He won. The mythical New Jerusalem of the Bible became a reality and all thanks to him. What strikes the contemporaries most is the light, the dematerialization of the building, the fact that the load-bearing surface is reduced. In the temples of ancient Egypt, walls and columns represented 35% of the mass of stone used, here it is at 10%. The cathedrals become real structures made of light. The altar that we can admire today was restored in the 19th century. But the three reliquaries in gold and silver that contain the bones of the saints are the same as those from the time of the abbot. This building, with its inconceivable dimensions, its extraordinary stained glass, creates an unprecedented visual shock. This is what the faithful who enter it for the first time feel. When the faithful enter Saint-Denis they do not believe their own eyes. In previous centuries they were used to seeing very intimate buildings, religious buildings in which everything was oriented towards the inner life. Now, they discover a building entirely dedicated to light. It is something amazing. Suger succeeded in achieving what he set out to do. Suger succeeded in achieving what he set out to do. A church in which the lumen, the physical light, coincides with the lux, the spiritual light. History has not passed on the name of Abbot Suger's chief architect, the man who allowed him to realize his craziest dream. This oblivion will become a constant of all following cathedrals, generally remembered by the name of a bishop. Perhaps a way to recognize that on the model of Abbot Suger in Saint-Denis, each of these monumental wonders is first and foremost the result of an out of the ordinary vision and tenacity, those of the client who dreamed of it before all the others. When Suger died in 1151, won the bet to renovate the abbey of Saint-Deny. For the first time we have a real jewel, an architectural and artistic feat never seen before. The basilica of Saint-Deny, consecrated as a cathedral in 1966, is the first example of what will later be called Gothic Art. An architectural masterpiece that will soon be copied, transformed, magnified throughout Europe. During this golden age of cathedrals, a new marvel of glass and stone, directly inspired by that of Abbot Suger, will rise from the ground every five years, without doubt the best homage that churchmen could pay to that visionary genius.