It became a favorite city of Emperor Constantine I, who built baths there, substantial remains of which are still standing. At that time, the city was home to an estimated 75,000–100,000 people.
#ABANDONED CASTLE NEARABRIC CAP DU BLANC PLUS#
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). 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 Europe. Nothing remains of the Roman bridge, which has been replaced by a more modern bridge near the same spot. This unusual design was a way of coping with the river's frequent violent floods, which would have made short work of a conventional bridge. The boats were secured in place by anchors and were tethered to twin towers built just upstream of the bridge. The Roman bridge was unique in that it was not fixed but consisted of a pontoon-style bridge of boats, with towers and drawbridges at each end. Dating from 70-50BC, it has yielded elaborate frescoes. The recently discovered republican House of the Harpist is an exceptional example of ancient architecture and interior decoration. The city had (and still has) the southernmost bridge on the Rhône. The river has carried centuries of silt that has filled in the former harbor.
Ancient Arles was closer to the sea than it is now and served as a major port.
#ABANDONED CASTLE NEARABRIC CAP DU BLANC FULL#
It covered an area of some 40 hectares (99 acres) and possessed a number of monuments, including an amphitheatre, triumphal arch, Roman circus, theatre, and a full circuit of walls. Its full title as a colony was Colonia Iulia Paterna Arelatensium Sextanorum, "the ancestral Julian colony of Arles of the soldiers of the Sixth."Īrelate was a city of considerable importance in the province of Gallia Narbonensis. The town was formally established as a colony for veterans of the Roman legion Legio VI Ferrata, which had its base there. Massalia backed Pompey when Caesar emerged victorious, Massalia was stripped of its possessions, which were transferred to Arelate as a reward. Arles had to compete with Massalia (Marseille) further along the coast.Īrles' leaders sided with Julius Caesar against Pompey, providing military support. They built a canal link to the Mediterranean Sea in 104 BC. The Romans took the town in 123 BC and expanded it into an important city. The city became an important Phoenician trading port, before it was taken over by the Romans. Later Celtic influences have also been discovered. The Ligurians were in this area from about 800 BC. Its area is 758.93 km 2 (293.02 sq mi), which is more than seven times the area of Paris.
But its population numbers only slightly more than 50,000.
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. The river Rhône forks into two branches just upstream of Arles, forming the Camargue delta. The toponym Arelate is a Latinized form of the Gaulish * Arelati, meaning 'by the marsh', or 'in front of the marsh'. AD ( Strabo), Arlate civitas in 954, and Arle in the 13th century. The settlement is attested as Arelate in the mid-1st century BC ( Caesar), Areláte (Ἀρελάτε) in the early 1st c. An international photography festival has been held annually in the city since 1970. These are in internationally known museums and private collections around the world. The Dutch post-Impressionist painter Vincent van Gogh lived in Arles from 1888 to 1889, and produced over 300 paintings and drawings during his time there. Many artists have lived and worked in this area because of the southern light, including Pablo Picasso, Paul Gauguin, Jacques Réattu, and Peter Brown. The Roman and Romanesque Monuments of Arles were listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1981 for their testimony to the history of the region. The city has a long history, and was of considerable importance in the Roman province of Gallia Narbonensis. ( Maripasoula, French Guiana, is much larger than Arles). 1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km 2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.Īrles ( / ɑːr l( z)/, US also / ˈ ɑːr əl/, French: Provençal: Arle in both classical and Mistralian norms Classical Latin: Arelate) is a coastal city and commune in the South of France, a subprefecture in the Bouches-du-Rhône department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, in the former province of Provence.Ī large part of the Camargue, the largest wetlands in France, is located on the territory of the commune, making it the largest commune in Metropolitan France in terms of geographic territory.
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