Le musée du Pilori at the end of the street with its medieval facade and clock tower.
Notice the empty wine bottle standing on the street next to the yellow mailbox on the right.
The building was Niort's city hall from the middle ages until the revolution in the 18th century. Its name comes from the pillories that occupied the site before the building was built, a place to secure and publicly display criminals. I didn't know any of this when we walked by (except for the sign on the door saying it was a museum). I've since done a little internet research about the building.
I finally looked on a map to see where you have been. Empty wine bottle. Lads on the streets? Big Issue seller likes a drink? Taken from a restaurant and finished on the street?
ReplyDeleteInteresting that the name would be maintained. Kind of like Dead Man’s Gulch I suppose.
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting when you find out the real reason behind street names. Lots of interesting ones in Paris, for example.
ReplyDeleteandrew, your guess is as good as mine.
ReplyDeletemitch, isn't that a neighborhood in Brooklyn (which, I read, comes from the dutch meaning "marshland.")?
judy, so true. And everywhere!