Arles is just an hour away to the south and is perhaps best known as the place Van Gogh lost part of his ear and went off the deep end. But there is little evidence left of Van Gogh's presence in Arles even though some of his well known paintings were done here.
But we're in search of older things and Arles doesn't disappoint. We parked just outside the medieval walls and headed to the tourist office before plunging into the old city. We bought entrance tickets for 4 monuments and began to follow our maps into the city.
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| city walls of Arles |
Our first stop on the Place de la République is the church and cloister of Saint Trophime, first bishop of Arles (250 AD) according to legend. Built in the 11th and 12th centuries to house the relics of St. Trophime when Arles was a bishopric and the second largest town in Provence, this former cathedral is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site because it has a high quality collection of original Romanesque sculpture.
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| church of St Trophime with original carvings |
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| Romanesque church of St. Trophime |
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| nave of church |
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| stained glass windows of the Virgin Mary and St. Trophime |
Once the bishopric moved to Aix-en-Provence in 1801, the cathedral became simply a parish church. But it bears witness to a time when Arles was a separate and influential kingdom.
The cloister was built in the 12th century to house the canons of the church.
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| Cloister of St. Trophime |
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| Lynn in cloister of St Trophime |
It, too, is rich in Romanesque carvings. One side has statues of saints.
Another has bas reliefs of the life of Christ
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| Mary & Joseph fleeing to Egypt |
and another has carvings of Provençal life, including one of St. Martha taming the Tarasque at Tarascon.
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| Add caption |
We weren't the only visitors to the cloister that day
Also on the Place de la Liberté is the Hôtel de Ville, a beautiful classical building with rich sculptural carvings.
Next to the hotel 12 metal panels have been erected, each of which is numbered so that there is space for 24 smallish (about18x24 inches or 2 ft x3 ft posters.
The elections for the European Parliament are on May 26 and this is where the official poster for candidates is hung. There are no other indications of political activity except these metal panels which are appearing outside each city hall. No posters, no yard signs, nothing.
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| this is a pair running for the communist party |
This will be the ninth direct elections for the 751 members of this parliament since 1979. Members of Parliament are elected for 5 years. There will be 79 members elected to represent France based on a national election slate of candidates who must register their intention to run 37 days before the election date. It is so amazing to watch this unfold. No rallies, no billboards. You'd never know there was going to be an election except for these metal panels.
We sat on a park bench to eat our picnic lunch and then headed back into town. Time to see the Roman highlights. First the theater, built in the first century BC to present plays - comedies, tragedies, and pantomimes, it was one of the first Roman theatres built in stone.
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| looking at the stage from the spectator seats |
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| behind the stage is a graveyard of carved stones from the theatre. I wonder how they figure out where they should go. |
It could accommodate 10,000 spectators whose entrance was free in order that all could attend. The wealthy and important sat in the lower rows or on the orchestra area in front of the stage. Merchants and laborers sat above them and the poor stood at the top.
Only two columns remain of about 100 that lined the back of the stage, which would have been very tall with square towers of rooms on stage left and right allowing actors to enter and leave and providing storage for theatre props and machinery.
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| the two remaining columns on the stage are called the widows |
The church, once established, was adamantly against the theatre and it became a stone quarry for building the cathedral of St. Stephen (church before St. Trophime) and houses built inside the theatre itself. In the 1800s a program of excavation and preservation was begun and gradually the houses within the theatre walls were removed. Today, after some restorations, the theatre is used again, especially in summer.
Next on the list: the Roman arena.
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| part of the arena from the outside |
Again, this monument is still in use for large spectacles and for bullfights. This arena could seat 20,000 for chariot races and gladiator combats and was built in 90 BC.
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| modern seating has been added to the old |
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| the arena is kind of football stadium size |
In the middle ages it was used as a fortress and it was at that time that the 4 defensive towers were added to the structure.
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| defensive tower added in middle ages |
A small town of 200 houses, 2 chapels and a public square was built inside the arena during this time when the arena structure was used as city walls. But by 1830, the houses had been expropriated and the arena could be used again.
Like modern coliseums, this had galleries against the outside walls. Do you suppose they sold peanuts?
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| the galleries behind the seating |
And, not in the old city, but visible from it, is this building whose function we don't know. It certainly caught our eye.
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| we have no idea what this ultra-modern building is. It looks like apartments, but who knows? |
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