Look Up – The Hidden Tribute to Quebec City’s Italian Community Inside Simons

Walk into Simons in Old Quebec and it is easy to miss one of the store’s most remarkable details. Before looking at the clothes, look up.

Above shoppers at the historic Côte de la Fabrique store is a huge gilded mosaic known as the Cupola of Saint-Amand-les-Eaux. It is beautiful on its own, but the story behind it makes it even more interesting: the work is dedicated to Carlo and Maria Cusan and to the Italians who made Quebec City their home.

A piece of France, made with Italian glass

According to Simons, the cupola is attributed to English artist Walter Crane. Made with Italian glass mosaic tiles, it originally decorated Château Bouchart, a late-19th-century château built by a prosperous industrial family in France.

The scene itself is wonderfully theatrical: two knights competing for the heart of a princess, rendered in glass, gold and color. It feels almost like something that belongs in a palace or museum, which is why discovering it over a department store floor is such a surprise.

Its Quebec City story is about immigration

After being restored by two specialists from Italy, the cupola was installed in the Old Quebec Simons in 2005. Simons says it was dedicated “to Carlo and Maria Cusan, and all Italians living in Quebec City,” recognizing the community’s cultural and social contribution.

That dedication changes the way you look at it. This is not simply an antique architectural piece imported because it was beautiful. It became a Quebec City tribute to people who arrived from Italy and helped build lives and community here.

There is a nice symmetry to the story: an artwork made with Italian glass, restored by Italian specialists, then given a permanent home in Quebec City with a dedication to the city’s Italian community.

Not Quebec City’s only Italian memorial — but perhaps its most unexpected

Quebec City does have another public tribute connected to Italy. The Dante Alighieri monument on the Allée des Poètes was also unveiled in 2005 and commemorates the Florentine poet regarded as the father of the Italian language.

So the Simons cupola is not the city’s only Italian memorial. But it may be the one most visitors are likely to pass without realizing what they are seeing.

Why we love finding things like this

This is exactly the kind of Quebec City detail we love: something hiding in plain sight.

Simons has occupied 20 Côte de la Fabrique since 1870, and the Old Quebec store is already part of the texture of the neighborhood. You can walk in simply to shop, then suddenly find yourself underneath a late-19th-century European mosaic with a Quebec immigration story attached to it.

If you are walking through Old Quebec, step inside and look up. Give yourself a minute to take in the whole cupola rather than just passing beneath it. The closer you look, the more detail appears.

Where: Simons, 20 Côte de la Fabrique, Old Quebec
What to look for: The Cupola of Saint-Amand-les-Eaux in the store’s interior
Installed in Quebec City: 2005

Photo: QuebecCity101.com