“We will rebuild it all together,” said Emmanuel Macron. The message was well heard by Lino Carniato. Retired ornamentalist and metalworker, he has recreated the rooster that once stood on the cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris. During the fire of April 15, 2019, the work was partially melted by the fire.
It will have taken a year of work for this specialist in copper and lead to reproduce this work of one meter high and 28 kg in embossed copper. A challenge that this Italian of origin imposed on himself to prove to his children that retirement had not transformed him into a ” asshole “, in his words.
The former boss of the Saint-Félix-de-Villadeix workshop, in Périgord, is nevertheless disappointed by what will follow. After finishing his work, Lino Carniato sends by letter a proposal that his reproduction be analyzed in order to be put back above the cathedral after its renovation. For this, he contacted the Minister of Culture, Roselyne Bachelot, the general responsible for the reconstruction work, General Jean-Louis Georgelin, or even the architect who was leading the construction site of Notre-Dame, Philippe Villeneuve. .
Despite the efforts made by the craftsman, his letters remained unanswered by these three actors. Lino Carniato did not go uncompensated; the Dordogne Chamber of Trades and Crafts has agreed to exhibit the reproduced rooster. The event started on Tuesday January 11th. Throughout the week, locals and tourists have been able to visit the institute located in Coulounieix-Chamiers to observe the sculpture of the ornamentalist-metalworker.
If he does not despair of seeing his rooster adorn the rebuilt cathedral, the craftsman took advantage of the moment when he saw the rooster on display: ” Today, I’m just happy to be able to show my work and that of Mrs. Scott, who did the gilding “, he testifies to the regional daily Sud-Ouest. On the same media, the territorial director of the Chamber of Trades and Crafts of the Dordogne expressed her admiration for the Périgord initiative: “ we find the initiative very beautiful and interesting and I find it wonderful that such projects are launched with the aim of helping to restore Notre-Dame. »