Nimes, the Rome of France

We always take our guests to visit the Pont du Gard because it has been standing for 2000 years and it is a spectacular to behold in a beautiful location.

Unless you are going to float down the Gardon River on rented kayaks, like we are going to do this summer, a visit to the Pont du Gard can be completed in 1/2 day. 

So we usually combine our visits to the Pont du Gard with a visit to Uzes or to the Roman city of Nîmes. 

Nîmes has a very long and rich history dating back to the Roman Empire when Nîmes was home to between 50,000 - 60,000 people.

There are several famous and well-preserved monuments such as the Nîmes Arena and the Maison Carrée and because of this Nîmes is often referred to as French Rome. 

The arena in Nîmes is twin to the arena in Arles, most likely from the same period (late 1c to early 2c), an excellent example of the perfection attained by Roman egineers in designing and building large and complex buildings.

From the exterior, you see two floors, each with 60 arches, 21 meters in heighth with an attic.

The arena is oval shaped, it measures 133 meters long and 101 meters wide, with an arena of 68 by 38 meters.

In Roman times, the arena could hold 24,000 spectators spread over 34 rows of spectators divided into 4 separate areas.

Each was accessed via a gallery and hundreds of stairwells and passageways called vomitories. They were called vomitories because they permitted the crowd to exit in a speedy hurry.

The arena was designed so that everyone had an unrestricted view of the entire arena. 

The arena was remodeled in 1863 to serve as a bullring. The arena of Nîmes is the site of bullfights during the Ferias de Nîmes, a popular festival centered on Spanish-style bullfighting. 

The Lycée (high school) Alphonse-Daudet seen below was constructed in the 16th century as a hospice.

The Tour Magne seen below in the distance sits on top of Mont Cavalier, the highest point in Nîmes. It is a vestige of the defenses built around the town. It is a 3-story polygonal tower 112 feet tall.

The Maison Carrée (Square House) seen below, is the best preserved of the Roman temples still standing. It was built under Augustus' (late 1C BC) reign and inspired by the Temple of Apollo in Rome.

Maison Carrée sits on a 2.85 meter high podium, it forms a rectangle almost twice as long as it is wide, measuring 26.42 meters by 13.54 meters. 

A large door (6.87 meters high by 3.27 meters wide) leads to a surprisingly small and windowless interior, where the shrine originally was. The building now houses a tourist oriented film on the Roman history of Nîmes

The Maison Carrée inspired the neoclassical Église de la Madeleine in Paris, St. Marcellinus Church in Rogalin, Poland, and in the United States, the Virginia State Capitol, which was designed by Thomas Jefferson, who had a stucco model made of the Maison Carrée while he was minister to France in 1785.

If you have time, besides the places I have highlighted in this post, you should plan to visit the Jardins de la Fontaine, 18th-century gardens in Nîmes, built in 1745 near the former western defensive ramparts of the city.

Carpentras, Unknown Gem of Provence

Over the years, we have headed to Carpentras many times on Friday mornings for the year-round Friday morning market. Carpentras is a short 25-minute ride down the D-7 from Sablet.

As we get near, we see Notre Dame de l'Observance towering over Carpentras. The church was built at the beginning of the sixteenth century. It was established as a parish church in 1792. The church was restored at the beginning of the nineteenth century. 

Notre Dame de l'Observance Church

Carpentras is located along the Auzon River. Carpentras was a commercial site used by Greek merchants in ancient times, and known to the Romains, first as Carpentoracte Meminorum, mentioned by Piney, then renamed Forum Neronis ("Forum of Nero").

Pope Clement V made it his papal headquarters before moving to Avignon in 1309. Carpentras and this small enclave of Provence did not become part of France until 1791. Nowadays, Carpentras is the commercial center for Comtat Venaissin. 

The 14th-century Porte d'Orange, is a massive, fortified gateway on the north side of historic Carpentras. This is all that remains of the defensive wall which consisted of 32 towers and 4 gates. This last gate stands 78 feet high.

14th Century Porte d'Orange

Boyer Passage is a covered passage built in 1848 by the unemployed put to work by the Ateliers Nationaux ("National Workshops"). The street was built to connect the little Halles and the market.

Boyer Passage

As you walk around Carpentras, you will come upon Saint Siffrein Cathedral which was built on top of two previous churches; traces of one, a 13th century Romanesque church can be seen on the northern side of the apse. The Cathedral was constructed in Gothic style by order of Pope Benedict XIII. 

It took more than a century to build, from 1404 to 1519. One of the Cathedral's most unusual features is the south doorway known as the Porte Juive ("Jew's Gate"). This ornate doorway was designed as an entrance for Jews who wished to be baptized. 

The interior of the Cathedral testifies to the great artistic fervor during the papal presence in the Comtat Venaissin. Painted panels of the crowning of the Virgin, 15th century-stained glass windows, precious Genoan marble altarpieces, gilded wood sculptures by the Bernus family, outstanding wrought iron work by the Mille family, paintings signed by G. E. Greve, N. Migard, E. Parrocel and Carpentras artist J. S. Duplessis. 

Saint Siffrein Cathedral

Carpentras has hosted Jews since at least 1276, according to tax records from that time. Expelled from France by Philippe le Bel, the Jews took refuge in the Papal lands where they were safe and enjoyed freedom of religion. Carpentras was home to a large Jewish community in a neighborhood that did not become a ghetto until the end of the 16th century.

The synagogue in Carpentras is the oldest Jewish house of worship in existence in France today. The synagogue, built in 1367, has a Baroque-style interior and a gold-ornamented hall with a blue domed ceiling. The synagogue building includes a 30-foot-deep ritual bath, fed by turquoise waters from a natural spring, another heated bath, a kosher abattoir, and two communal ovens. The 18th-century sanctuary is on the first floor.

Jewish Synagogue

The 28 foot tall Roman arch in Carpentras is the only remaining structure from the Roman period. It was built in the 1st century AD under Emperor Augustus to commemorate the Roman victory over the Barbarians. The single arch is decorated with sculpted figures representing chained prisoners on its lateral sides.

Roman Arch

The memorial seen below honors the residents of Carpentras who sacrificed their lives or went missing during the Great War (World War I).

Carpentras War Memorial

 You can learn about the region's history at the new L'Inguimbertine museum and library set in the recently restored 18th-century hospital. The museum tells the story of the French popes and the protected Jews in Provence. 

Carpentras is also the birthplace of the Berlingot de Carpentras,  a pyramid shaped candy whose recipe dates back to Clement V, which you can watch being made at the Confiserie du Mont Ventoux.