Day 10 Rians to Orange

Three Roman sites to visit today; Arles, Nimes and Orange

I was originally going to spend more time in Arles, but somehow heard that the Nimes amphitheatre was better preserved, and it had an English audio commentary, so after a walk around the Arles amphitheatre and a look through the bars of the theatre,







I motored over to the Museum of Antiqities (can't beat a GPS for that sort of complex within-city manoeuvre) and found that it was 90% devoted to the Roman period, had a huge collection of large recovered objects, and had many great models.





Julius, discovered 2007.



Pile-driver putting in foundations of Circus seating.



I think these are wonderfully informative, second-sources though they are. Here are the sails stretched over the audience to shade them in the amphitheatre.

Seeing the chariot-tracks leading away from the starting gates in the Circus (which was deleted long ago) gives a real feel for the purpose of the structure. And the sections showing work-in-progress are extra-good for anyone with an interest in building or engineering.



After an hour there I set off for Nimes, the so-called Capital of Roman France. And the amphitheatre there, contemporary with the Colosseum in Rome, was fabulous;






I gave over the idea of seeing their other well-preserved sites, and spent two hours exploring the structure and listening to the commentary, which covered a lot more than just the structure of this amphitheatre, including a correction to the general view of gladiators, and an explanation of the evolution of such contests during the period of Empire. Unfortunately, it wasn't for sale. The arena is quite small, only 70 x 40 m, but it seated 24,000, and the hollow structure contained passageways that allowed rapid flow of the spectators in and out.

From Nimes I rode to Orange; it's only "30 minutes" from Nimes but it took me half-an-hour just to get to the motorway to begin the 30 minutes. Luckily, I'd deliberately chosen a hotel just across the road from the Roman Theatre, because I only had an hour to listen, look and walk before they closed.


Most of the 9000 seat hemi-circle structure of the theatre has been rebuilt since the 1840's; it was used as a fort during the hundred-years war, and there was once a village built inside the theatre, so we're lucky to have what's left. And what's left is huge, and bears witness to the importance of theatre in Roman life. This is just the stage and associated rooms.






Theatre attendance was free, the actors and supports were paid by the Emperor or the local governor, and there were commonly 40 days of performance each year. Both this theatre and the Nimes amphitheatre are still in use, which helps to preserve them.





Dire Straits played here in 1982.

28 degrees or more for a lot of the afternoon; quite unpleasant in full riding gear.

Tomorrow it's back to riding; no museums except for a stop in Vaison-la-Romaine, which is a pity, because this weekend is Museums Weekend in France.

Location:Orange