CITY FOCUS ❘ ROUEN ARLES


CITY FOCUS ARLES


The northern gateway to the Camargue, Arles successfully blends the very old and the thoroughly modern. Gillian Thornton walks in Roman footsteps to fi nd Van Gogh


P


itch up in Arles and it won’t be long before you run into the Romans: their built legacy still packs a pretty hefty punch 2,000 years on. Van Gogh pops up regularly too, having spent his most productive spell around the narrow streets and shady squares. But I have to admit I nearly missed Picasso, such is the


wealth of attractions in this UNESCO-listed city. And this year, Arles celebrates the opening of an eye-catching new addition to the skyline. Situated at the northern apex of the Rhône delta, gateway to the Camargue wetlands, Arles was fi rst a Celtic city, colonised by the Greeks and then from the 1st century AD, quickly developed by the Romans. The 12th century saw the rise of outstanding Romanesque architecture, only partly replaced in the 17th by bourgeois Provençal townhouses. So today, Arles offers layers of period architecture in one compact city centre.


At the heart of the old town stands the Roman amphitheatre, also referred to as the arena because of the bull games that still take place there. Impressive from any angle, this towering monument dramatically recalls the days when more than 50,000 people lived in the riverside city of Arelate. More than 20,000 spectators could watch


48 ❘ FRANCE TODAY Apr/May 2020


games here at any one time but in the Middle Ages, this vast space – 130m long – was turned into a fortifi ed community.


CENTRE STAGE


Restored to its original purpose in the 19th century, the arena still hosts a variety of events including the Courses Camarguaises or Bull Races. Held during July and August, these traditional contests require brave young men – the raseteurs – to pluck rosettes off the up-turned horns of native black cattle. No animals are harmed, though the runners risk a few nasty cuts and bruises, and across the Camargue, statues are erected to the most legendary competition bulls. A short walk from the arena, Arles’s Roman theatre stages summer events of a less frantic nature. Look out for concerts and theatre productions. If you really love your Romans, you can delve even deeper – in every sense of the word – into their life and times with a tour of the Cryptoportico, a network of underground galleries beneath the ancient forum. Close to the river, explore the Baths of Constantine, or head to the Arles Archeological Museum where the 1,800 objects on display include a Gallo-Roman barge found intact in the waters of the Rhone.


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