Arles

One of my favorite towns, Arles is located south o the point where the Rhône divides into the Grand Rhône and the Petit Rhône. The two arms enclose the Camargue, a region of marshlands, white horses, bulls and cowboys or gardians extending to the Mediterranean. Arles has impressive Roman remains – the Arènes and the theatre which are UNESCO World Heritage Sites and Constantine’s baths. We are berthed under the remains of a Roman bridge – two double towers on either bank, topped with lions, and two supports in the river. It is, of course Vincent’s town, as the French call the Dutch post-Impressionist painter Vincent van Gogh, who lived here in 1888-1889 and produced over 300 paintings and drawings during his time here.

The Arènes are used for festivals, concerts and bullfights, the Provençal style where the bull is not killed – men try to remove ribbons from the bull’s horns and the bull is hero – and the Spanish style, using Spanish bulls, where the bull is killed and the matador is hero. The Theatre is used for plays and one opera a year, Gounod’s “Mireille” Arles also elects a Queen of Arles.

The “Espace Van Gogh” is the old “Hôtel Dieu” or hospital where van Gogh spent 15 months after the “ear” incident with Gauguin. It is now a cultural center and is easily recognizable from his painting of the courtyard. The Café van Gogh on the Place du Forum is the one depicted in “Night Café in Arles”. On the other hand, the “Yellow House” has been demolished.

The Town Hall Square is a complex of Provençal architecture including the fountain with its Roman obelisk, the Romanesque St. Trophime Church and the City Hall itself which contains a copy of the Venus of Arles (the original is in the Louvre).

The streets are a delight of color and style – a medieval wall here, a Renaissance statue there. A charming place to stroll and faire de la lèche vitrine (window licking!!!!)

The Ligurians were in this area from about 800 BC. Later Celtic influences have been discovered. The city became an important The Romans took the town in 123 BC and expanded it into an important city, with a canal link to the Mediterranean Sea being constructed in 104 BC. However, it struggled to escape the shadow of Massalia (Marseilles) further along the coast. Its chance came when it sided with Julius Caesar against Pompey, providing military support. Massalia backed Pompey; when Caesar emerged victorious, Massalia was stripped of its possessions, which were transferred to Arelate as a reward. Arelate was a city of considerable importance in the province of Gallia Narbonensis. Ancient Arles was closer to the sea than it is now and served as a major port. It also had (and still has) the southernmost bridge on the Rhone. 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 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). Arles became a favorite city of Emperor Constantine I, who built baths there, substantial remains of which are still standing. His son, Constantine II, was born in Arles. Usurper Constantine III declared himself emperor in the West (407–411) and made Arles his capital in 408.

Arles became renowned as a cultural and religious centre during the late Roman Empire and a Christian community was present as of the 4th century.

Arles was badly affected by the invasion of Provence by the Muslim Saracens and the Franks, who took control of the region in the 8th century. In 855 it was made the capital of a Frankish Kingdom of Arles, which included Burgundy and part of Provence. In 933, Hugh of Arles ("Hugues de Provence") gave his kingdom up to Rudolph II, who merged the two kingdoms into a new Kingdom of Arles. Most of the territory of the Kingdom was progressively incorporated into France. During these troubled times, the amphitheatre was converted into a fortress, with watchtowers built at each of the four quadrants and a minuscule walled town being constructed within. The population was by now only a fraction of what it had been in Roman times, with much of old Arles lying in ruins. The town regained political and economic prominence in the 12th century, with the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa traveling there in 1178 for his coronation. In the 12th century, it became a free city governed by an elected podestat (chief magistrate; literally "power"), who appointed the consuls and other magistrates. It retained this status until the F Arles joined the countship of Provence in 1239 but suffered its prominence being eclipsed once more by Marseilles. In 1378, the Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV ceded the remnants of the Kingdom of Arles to the Dauphin of France (later King Charles VI of France) and the Kingdom ceased to exist even on paper.

Arles remained economically important for many years as a major port on the Rhône. The arrival of the railway in the 19th century eventually killed off much of the river trade, leading to the town becoming something of a backwater.

This is my last post. I am busy packing and will have to leave very early tomorrow morning to get the train for Paris and then transfer to the Eurostar for London. I am meeting relatives for dinner tomorrow night and breakfast on Monday. Then I’ll be homeward bound. Looking forward to seeing you all and cuddling my Bau!!!!! Au revoir from France.