Two lesser known (but highly recommended) Roman Cities

[Optimo Principi]

Salve all,

Having just returned from a trip around the Roman sites of Southern France I feel compelled to recommend two lesser known sites that were undoubtedly the highlight of my trip. Though I had been to them before, I again visited Nimes (Nemauses), Orange (Arausio) and Arles (Arelate)... but after some research and a car rental I travelled to two more: Vasio (Modern Vaison La Romaine) and Glanum (Nr modern Saint Remy de Provence). I must say these two sites, that do not  even make the pages of many guide books are an absolute must see to anyone who likes wandering through the deserted streets of ancient cities - plus the streets may actually be deserted as these sites see much less crowds than others!

First off here are some images from Vasio. Walking around these two cities I must say I felt that like I was in northern Africa rather than France considering the extent of the remains.

1) The Decumanus Maximus, lined with preserved shops

2) The Bathhouse

3) The beautifully preserved gymnasium with natatio (swimming pool)

4) A very intriguing item indeed - A solid silver bust of a local patrician. I have never seen a silver bust before and the large villa where it was found is now named after the find.

5) Me in the Latrines of the "House of the Silver Bust"

6) Other communal latrines elsehwhere in the town

7) A lovely collonade, surprisingly, considering the size of the town, the majority of Vasio still lies under the modern town

8.  The 1st century Roman Bridge, still in use to this day!


Glanum still to come.

[Optimo Principi]

Vasio...

[Optimo Principi]

Roman Glanum is a few miles outside of Saint Remy-de-Provence in the district of Aude. Initially a Gaulish settlement it is situated in a canyon that was excavated in the 1930's. Van Gogh painted the site when it was covered in Olive trees, not knowing what lay underneath!


1) The two spectacular monements that mark the entry into the town. The perfectly preserved cenotaph of the Julii and a triumphal arch depicting defeated Gauls.

2) Highway passing through the town. On the right can be seen the Town Curia with thick hemicycle walls.
.
3) View from atop the canyon, at the bottom centre can be the seen the remains of two sister temples.

4) The natatio in the bathouse. Note the water head at the far end that fed the pool.

5) Drains leading to the sewers; a river ran under the street cleaning away all the town's waste water.

6) Alters dedicated to Hercules still in place in front of a shrine to Hercules that once stood in the town

7) Underground spring that became a place of healing for the sick. A temple to Health was built on top.

[Optimo Principi]

Last two of Glanum..

[Randygeki(h2)]

Great photos!

[commodus]

One word: Wow!

[cliff_marsland]

That would be my kind of vacation destination; not overly crowded, but lots of great things to see.  It sounds like you had a great time and thanks for bringing us those wonderful pictures.

[David Atherton]

Great photos! My kind of vacation as well.

[Mark Z]

Bravo!

Great photos captioned informatively.

mz

[ancientone]

On my next vacation to France I'll leave my wife on the beach while I wander aimlessly through the ruins.  Great pics!

[Joe S2]

Thanx for sharing,  that was awesome.

[krazy]

I'm truly impressed! Thanks for sharing this.

[slokind]

And even easier on the train: if you go to Lyon (wonderful coin museum, for one thing), it's just a half hour on the train to Vienne, which has, inter alia, a temple that is either Augustan or early Julio-Claudian.
Pat L.

[Will Hooton]

Glanum's restoration is first rate! I definitely have to see it!

[septimus]

You're right Pat, Vienne's temple is for me one of the most beautiful Roman temple. I've seen there also the pyramide (remain of the circus) and the theatre but not the St Romain-en-Gal quarter.
Here is a link in English: http://www.culture.gouv.fr/fr/arcnat/vienne/en/index.html

[Pscipio]

Well, Kained, we almost met each other without knowing because I also just was in Southern France lately and also visited Vaison-la-Romaine which I liked very much (apart from the vew coins displayed with horrible attribution errors like a Maximinus Sestertius attributed to Magnus Maximus 383-388 AD and so on). The mix of Roman ruins with a medieval village on the hill plus a medieval castle atop has a very special flair and I agree that it should be on the to do list of everyone going to Southern France*. I also visited Vienne, where they have a wonderful new museum just on the river bank of the Rhône. If I find the time, I can also post some pictures from more famous sites like Nîmes (Nemausus - very nice Amphitheatre and more), Orange (Arausio - not a very nice city but the Roman Theatre probably is the best in existence) or the Pont du Gard.

Lars

* a tip for early birds: drive to the summit of the Mont Ventoux (about 1900 m above sea level, approx. 45-60 minutes of driving from Vaison) and enjoy the sunrise. It is best to be early so that you can see the full sunrise from the first traces of the light until the sun rising above the Alps. We did that early last week and were lucky enough to have a completely clear sky. It was a wonderful experience. Be sure, however, to dress well as it can be surprisingly cold up there even in summer.