ABSTRACT
This chapter attempts to reconstitute the occasion as precisely as possible, focusing on the lasting as well as on the ephemeral nature of the architectural setting and on the costumes and the processional cars which played a crucial role. It argues on three principal written sources, the accounts of Laugier de Porchères, François de Rosset and Etienne Richer, and on the engravings of Chastillon and Ziarnko. The 1612 carrousel, which emphasised the majestic character of the brick and stone facades and the high slate roofs, accentuated the residential aspect of the space which, in 1639, was provided with a statue of the monarch. In 1612, the construction of the Place Royale which had begun in 1605 had just been completed. The ground was still littered with diverse building materials. The size of the Place Royale does not compare with that found in the rue Saint-Antoine, and belongs more to the frame of the festivals at Turin and at Florence.
