The tragic fire which devastated the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris is seen as a symbol of the loss of civilization as a whole by many. But the beloved church, like many historic buildings and structures throughout the world, knows the touch of wanton destruction throughout the centuries. Now that the funding for Notre Dame reaches over $1 billion dollars, there will be no problem with its famed being placed at some point in the future.    A Parisian history of catastrophes By definition, Notre Dame is built from destruction — a Roman church was demolished to make space for it in the 12th century. From there it should be no surprise that the cathedral has seen a rather tumultuous history of “improvements” throughout time.    Most famously Notre Dame felt a massive effect during the French Revolution, where supporters of the movement vandalized and damaged the cathedral. More than 20 of its statues were decapitated during the era. Iconoclasts attempted to burn it down a century later but their…