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Prosper Mérimée
1803-1870
Historical Figure
The author of Carmen and Colomba, Prosper Mérimée was also the great savior of France's monuments. In 1834, he succeeded Ludovic Vitet as inspector general of historic monuments.
From that point on, he traveled across France cataloging remarkable architectural sites and drawing up the first protection lists, laying the groundwork for a genuine heritage preservation policy.
He was the one who commissioned Eugène Viollet-le-Duc to restore Vézelay, in Burgundy, Notre-Dame de Paris, and the citadel of Carcassonne, in southern France, saving monuments that are world famous today from ruin.
