Arles Travel - Arles is a city and commune in the south of
France, in the Bouches-du-Rhône department, of which it is a subprefecture, in the former province of
Provence.
Geography
The
Roman arena in Arles
The
Rhône river forks into two branches just upstream of Arles, forming the
Camargue delta. Because the Camargue is for a large part administratively part of Arles, the commune as a whole is the largest commune in
Metropolitan France in terms of territory, although its population is only slightly more than 50,
000. Its area is 758.93 km2 (293.02 sq mi), which is more than seven times the area of
Paris.
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History
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Ancient era
The Ligurians were in this area from about 800 BC.
Later Celtic influences have been discovered. The city became an important
Phoenician trading port, before being taken by the
Romans.
The Romans took the town in
123 BC and expanded it into an important city, with a canal link to the
Mediterranean Sea being constructed in 104 BC. However, it struggled to escape the shadow of
Massalia (
Marseilles) further along the coast.
Its chance came when it sided with
Julius Caesar against
Pompey, providing military support. Massalia backed Pompey; when
Caesar emerged victorious, Massalia was stripped of its possessions, which were transferred to
Arelate as a reward.
The town was formally established as a colony for veterans of the
Roman legion Legio VI Ferrata, which had its base there. Its full title as a colony was
Colonia Iulia
Paterna Arelatensium Sextanorum, the ancestral
Julian colony of Arles of the soldiers of the
Sixth.
Arelate was a city of considerable importance in the province of
Gallia Narbonensis. It covered an area of some 99 acres (400,000 m²) and possessed a number of monuments, including an amphitheatre, triumphal arch,
Roman circus, theatre, and a full circuit of walls.
Ancient Arles was closer to the sea than it is now and served as a major port. It also had (and still has) the southernmost bridge on the
Rhone. Very unusually, the
Roman bridge was not fixed but consisted of a pontoon-style bridge of boats, with towers and drawbridges at each end. The boats were secured in place by anchors and were tethered to twin towers built just upstream of the bridge. This unusual design was a way of coping with the rivers frequent violent floods, which would have made short work of
a conventional bridge.
Nothing now remains of the Roman bridge, which has been replaced by a more modern bridge near the same spot.
The city reached a peak of influence during the 4th and
5th centuries, when
Roman Emperors frequently used it as their headquarters during military campaigns. In 395 it became the seat of the
Praetorian Prefecture of the Gauls, governing the western part of the
Western Empire: Gaul proper plus
Hispania (
Spain) and
Armorica (
Brittany).
It became a favorite city of
Emperor Constantine I, who built baths there, substantial remains of which are still standing. His son,
Constantine II, was born in Arles. Usurper
Constantine III declared himself emperor in the
West (407--411) and made Arles his capital in 408.
SOURCE :
WIKIPEDIA
A large part of the Camargue is located on the territory of the commune, making it the largest commune in Metropolitan France in terms of territory (though
Maripasoula,
French Guiana is much larger. The city has a long history, and was of considerable importance in the
Roman province of Gallia Narbonensis. The Roman and
Romanesque Monuments of Arles were listed as
UNESCO World Heritage Sites in
1981.
The Dutch post-Impressionist painter
Vincent van Gogh lived in Arles in 1888-1889 and produced over
300 paintings and drawings during his time there. An international photography festival is held in the city since
1970. ( source
Wikipedia )
Enjoy Your Arles Travel!
- published: 10 Aug 2014
- views: 27