Roman Arles

Predating its illustrious neighbor the amphitheater by a century, the Roman theater of Arles is today much less well preserved. General view of the ancient theater Built at the end of the 1st century BC, it dates from the first phase of urbanization of the Roman colony founded by Caesar in -45. Built on the Hauture hill, it is part of the Roman grid, on the decumanus (east-west road). Fortified in the Middle Ages and invaded by parasitic constructions – its own materials were often reused in neighboring buildings – we have even lost knowledge of the initial function of the monument. This was rediscovered at the end of the 17th century and confirmed in the following centuries by the numerous archaeological pieces unearthed from its soil, including the famous “Venus of Arles” (Louvre). It was not until the 19th century that the site was completely cleared. Only a few stands remain, the orchestra, the stage curtain pit and two tall marble columns topped with a fragment of an entablature. The theatre has nevertheless regained, especially in the summer, its vocation as a venue for performances.

The amphitheater is the most important monument of the ancient Roman colony that we can admire, some two millennia after its construction. Its architecture is entirely designed in relation to its vocation as a venue for large shows, welcoming a large audience. In their initial elevation, the stands could accommodate around 21,000 spectators, whose flow was cleverly organized by a network of doors, galleries and staircases, on several floors. Having become from the beginning of the Middle Ages a veritable walled and fortified city, the building was not cleared until the 19th century. It then regained, in part, its initial function, notably with bullfighting, which earned it its current common name of “arenas”.

Late 1st century BC Cryptoporticas form the hidden foundation of the forum, the central public square of a Roman city. Little is known about the Arlesian forum itself. Only a few elements (decoration, layout) allow us to date the start of work, a few years after the foundation of the colony. These foundations are intended to stabilize the vast esplanade on naturally sloping ground. They appear in the form of three galleries forming a U opening towards the east. The southern gallery is dug into the rock, while to the north, the land is backfilled by several meters, preserving the remains of the pre-Roman town. The current traffic level corresponds fairly well to that of the ancient city floor, which was much lower. Only the northern gallery, due to the slope of the land, opened onto a square, the ancestor of our current Place du Forum. A fourth gallery, characterized by the use of bricks, probably testifies to a restructuring of the building during Late Antiquity.