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#WeLoveBrussels

Press walk in Brussels
by Maria Laura Franciosi
Maria Laura Franciosi is a freelance journalist and acts as a
consultant for the training of journalists. She is the Founding President of the Press Club Brussels Europe. Since 1998 she has been
a senior collaborator of the European Journalism Centre. She
also coordinated the media programme of the European Citizens
Consultations. As honorary president of J@YS (Journalists at
Your Service), she trains journalists and organises briefings and
conferences. In the past, Maria Laura was a lecturer on Language
and Politics at the London School of Economics (LSE) from 1967
to 1970 and at the University of Rome until 1977, after which she
joined ANSA (the Italian News Agency) where she worked until
2001 in Rome, London and Brussels as bureau chief.

There is a special walk devised for journalists
and supported by “La Fonderie” (Rue Ransfort 27,
1080 Molenbeek), which we have followed and
want to share with you.
It was launched in 2015 on the occasion of “Les
Journees du Patrimoine” (Heritage Days).
The tour starts at La Monnaie, the Brussels opera
house, which has played an important role in
Belgium’s history.
It was here that the “Belgian revolution” started on 25
August 1830 after the opera “The dumb girl of Portici”
was performed at La Monnaie. The opera written by
Daniel Auber with the libretto by Germain Delavigne
and Eugene Scribe is based on the story of Masa-

niello, a man of the people who started a revolution
in Naples in 1647 against the ruling Bourbon king.
When the character Masaniello launched his battle
cry “Aux armes citoyens” from the stage followed
by the choir singing “Amour sacré de la patrie” the
already excited audience was enflamed and stormed
out of the opera house shouting “Aux armes” against
the ruling Dutch King William I of Orange. Already
upset by the results of the Vienna Congress in 1815
which ended the Napoleonic era, the enraged Belgians decided to attack the newspaper “Le National”
favourable to the ruling kings and then sacked and
plundered the house (close to the present site of
the Musical Instrument Museum) of Count Libry
The Opéra de la Monnaie in Brussels

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