In Père-Lachaise Cemetery, Paris, lies the bronze statue of Victor Noir — a 22-year-old journalist who was shot dead in 1870 by Prince Pierre Bonaparte after a heated political dispute. Sculpted by Jules Dalou, the effigy shows Noir lying as if freshly fallen at the moment of his death, his hat beside him and a distinct bulge in his trousers that the sculptor intentionally emphasized. Over time, myths formed around the statue. Women began visiting the grave, believing that touching, kissing, or straddling the figure could bring fertility, romance, or pleasure. The legend became so widespread that the bronze around his lips and crotch has been polished smooth by countless visitors, transforming a somber monument into one of Paris’s most notorious romantic curiosities.
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