A series of covered passages are developed in Paris during the first half of the XIXth century, creating in fact and by legal conditions a series of private spaces that cut through the center of the city blocks, setting up long glass walls for shops that are covered with glass structures. The idea is developed also in other cities as Brussels, and find one of the best exemples in tems of dimensions in the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan.

The success of these spaces is clear, and in 1843 the Passage Pommeraye opens in Nantes. It has horizontal parts linked with stairs, as it links two streets with diverging levels (rue Santeuil and rue de la Fosse), with four levels overall, an unusual setup