Photolithography titled “La Primatiale de Carthage, d’apres une photographie directe”.

Artist unknown.

Saint Louis Cathedral is an old Roman Catholic cathedral located in Carthage, Tunisia.Situated on the peak of Byrsa Hill and near the ruins of the ancient Punic and then Roman city, the cathedral is no longer used for worship but hosts concerts of Tunisian music and classical music. Late 19th century French architecture tended to feature composite styles (as in the case of the Basilica of the Sacré Cœur in Paris, built in a Roman-Byzantine style in the same era). The building, constructed according to the plans of the abbot Pougnet, has a Byzantine-Moorish style, and is in the shape of a Latin cross of 65 meters by 30. The façade is framed by two square towers, the crossing lies beneath a large cupola surrounded by eight little steeples, and there is a smaller cupola above the apse. The church contains a nave and two aisles separated by arches passing above and the ceiling is adorned with beams that have sculpted, painted and gilt arabesques on them. The stained glass also features arabesques. The great bell weighs six tons and there is a four-bell carillon as well.

Approx. image size: 19, 1 x 15, 1/30, 8 x 22 cm. Condition: medium.