\paperw4260 \margr0\margl0 \plain \qj\li105\ri105 \f1 \b The basilica of Saint-Denis\par
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\b0 While the Kings of France were crowned at Reims, the coronation of the country
's queens took place in this basilica to the north of Paris, which also became the royal pantheon after Dagobert and Hugh Capet chose to be buried there. In the twelfth century, at the initiative of Abbot Suger, Saint-Denis was transformed into one of th
e finest examples of the emerging Gothic style and served as a model for many other constructions. In 1793, during the upheavals of the Revolution, its tombs were desecrated but the sepulchral monuments were preserved and can still be admired today. Thos
e of Francis I, of Henry II and Catherine de' Medici, and of Louis XII and Anne of Brittany, in particular, are masterpieces of French Renaissance sculpture.\par
