Roman Arles

In 123 BC, the Romans took control of this city we call Arles.  It was already an important Phoenician trading port on the Rhone and had been occupied by prior civilizations including Celts for hundreds of years.

The industrious Romans soon built a canal to the Mediterranean to make Arles a seaport competitive with wealthy Marseille.

When Rome's First Triumvirate of three generals that ruled Rome split up, Julius Caesar decided he should lead the Roman Republic instead of Pompey the Great, who had been the Senate's choice, battles ensued throughout the far-flung Republic, with different regions backing their preferred "candidates."  Marseille backed the politically designated ruler, Pompey, while Arles cast its lot with Julius.

According to our guide, Arles built thirty ships for Julius to attack Marseille.  When Julius emerged victorious against not only in Marseille but over Pompey and the third contender Crassus, he rewarded his allies and punished his opponents, as political leaders still do to this day.  He stripped great wealth from Marseille and lavished it upon Arles.

Arles was already a mini-version of Rome, with a theater and coliseum, both of which have been partially restored and are again used for their intended purposes of entertainment and athletic competition, respectively.

Built in 90 BC, the coliseum initially hosted events like chariot races and gladiator battles for 20,000 spectators.  When the Roman Empire tumbled in the fifth century AD, the "circuses" also fell to the wayside.  Lavish marble and other building materials from the coliseum would be repurposed after Roman rule ended, but at least the bottom two levels survived enough so that when Moors swept up from Northern Africa, they converted the coliseum into a fortress.

In the middle ages, a neighborhood developed behind its defensive walls.  Over the years, homes gradually deteriorated.  By the end of the 18th century, the coliseum had lost utility for housing.  In 1825, a writer proposed that it be converted into a national monument.  The houses inside were razed beginning in 1826.  

In 1830, a "race of bulls" was held in the partially restored arena to celebrate the French conquering of Algiers, which had previously been part of the Ottoman Empire.

Immigration to Algiers by French citizens and eventual repatriation of their ancestors and those who collaborated with them after Algiers revolted in 1960 and was recognized as independent by the United Nations added to the rich cultural bouillabaisse found in the south of France.

Even more so than Paella that we saw being cooked in Arles, bullfighting seems quintessentially associated with Spain and by extension Mexico, not France.  But Arènes d'Arles, as it is now known, hosts bullfights, some that result in killing the bull, a tradition there since the 19th Century.  

We didn't see a bullfight, but just the mention of it raised questions from some of our fellow travelers wondering about residents approving the barbarism of the sport, to which the guide made the observation that it is true that some people despise the tradition, but others, especially those with deep roots in Arles, cherish it.

The next day in Avignon, Julie and I walked through Musée Calvet where I snapped a photo of a 1927 painting by Auguste Chabaud, Les Arènes.  Around the perimeter is the top of the coliseum, which has an arched architectural design similar to a Roman aqueduct.

Close to Arles is another Roman engineering marvel, Pont du Gard, a towering three-tiered aqueduct and bridge that stands 164 feet tall.  It brought water 31 miles to the town of Nimes, with engineering so precise that it had a downslope of about an inch for every 5 football fields of length, making perfect water flow.  It's amazing to realize it was created in an age before computers and modern diesel powered construction equipment.

This is inside the coliseum, not the aqueduct.

It was such a wonder of the world in its day that tourists came from all over the Roman Empire to see it, but by 600 AD, Barbarians had destroyed its utility for furnishing water.  Fortunately, they recognized its value as a bridge and didn't knock it down.  We did not take a tour to Pont du Gard, because as Julie pointed out, we had seen a similarly impressive towering aqueduct in Segovia, Spain, on our last Mediterranean cruise.

Pont du Gard is built out of Shelly limestone bricks weighing up to six tons each, and they are so precisely cut that no mortar was needed for the structure to still be standing 2,000 years later.  It was designed with jutting rocks and crevices to allow reinforcement as needed over the centuries.  It would be worth seeing, but it is hard to see everything.  There is also a Cryptoporticus subterranean level tunnel of Roman ruins built to support the Roman forum back in the time of when gladiators fought in the coliseum.

Another signature sight...or should I say aroma?....of the region are blooming fields of lavender, which have their peak in the summer months.  The Romans cherished the smell of lavender so much that they would smear the flowers against the walls of their houses, serving the purpose of modern air fresheners.

Brochures of this cruise itinerary often showcase lavender fields, and if that is important to you, then you will want to come during prime summer vacation weeks.

Keep in mind that is when schools are on summer vacation and most Europeans take their 5 weeks of annual paid vacation, so it will be much more crowded than spring or fall.

Coming in prime vacation weeks also puts you in the midst of festival season, so there are throngs drawn for various events centered on music, theater, cinema, flamenco and more. If you love that excitement of crowds, you might want to rent a villa in Arles for the month of July...or take a similar river cruise in the summer to get a taste of it.

The fact is that a recurring theme when we travel is that there isn't time to do and see everything, but that's not a bad thing.  It's incentive to return.

Many in the group needed a restroom break by the time our tour reached a large plaza in front of Cathedral of Saint Trophime Arles.

I decided to run up the stairs to check out the interior of this Romanesque Cathedral constructed between the 12th and 15th Centuries.  It was very dark when I first entered, but as I moved toward the alter I saw many beautiful works of art.

I'm not sure if this church was spared the French Revolution destruction or it has been restored, but in any case it is beautiful, and I'm happy it survived.  It was built on  the site of a Fifth Century basilica. 

German King Frederick Barbarossa was crowned Holy Roman Emperor at the new Cathedral by the Archbishop of Arles in 1178.  The church leadership would eventually move to Avignon, which we would visit the next day.  Other historical figures played their parts on its stage, including Knights Hospitaler (aka Knights of Malta) and Knights Templar.

To enter the city, we passed through Porte de la Cavalerie, the old round towers that our guide called the Knights' Gate.  It is associated with the Knights Templar. 

While Viking starts or ends its Lyon and Provence cruise in Avignon, some other cruise lines have Arles as an endpoint, which would make it more convenient for returning in the afternoon after lunch or exploring for a few days pre- or post-cruise, possibly during lavender and festival season.

As for us, we would head back to Tarascon, where Viking Delling makes its port of call for Arles, and after a delicious lunch, we explored that village that has some interesting history, or at least legends, of its own.

So many icons of the Second Estate were beheaded in the
French Revolution and never repaired, we were happy to see
that some survived in Arles.