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Nîmes is the old Gaulish tribal capital of Nemausus - named after a local god said to live in a spring near the first town site. The town was taken early by the Romans and was soon important because of its position on the road to Spain. In medieval times, Nîmes was always in the wrong place or on the wrong side at the crucial time and was looted and plundered on many occasions. On one occasion, when it was free of the ravages of war for a moment, the town was hit by the plague instead. Real stability did not arrive until the late eighteenth century, which means that the seeker after the architecture of that period will find the town well-worth a visit.
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In part the prosperity came from the production of a heavy blue serge cloth, later known as denim (from de Nîmes), which was exported to California for a man who is now a household name, Levi Strauss. He rivetted the cloth together to form wear-resistent trousers for Gold Rush miners. Another famous name is also associated with a Nîmes man. In the late seventeenth century Jean Nicot, born in the town in 1650, introduced tobacco to France. In his honour the drug isolated from tobacco leaves was called nicotine.
It is, however, for the Roman remains that most visitors come.
The Arena (Amphitheatre) is smaller than that at Arles, but in a better state of preservation. Built in the first century AD, it is 420ft (128m) long and 330ft (100m) across and could hold 20,000 people.
In medieval times, it served as a village, housing 2,000 people. As with Arles, the Arena bullfights are both Provençal and Spanish style.
Maison Carrée, the other really important Roman monument, stands a little away from the Arena. The name means 'Square House', which shows a certain lack of geometric awareness concerning what is now believed to be the finest surviving Roman temple, and was built in Hellenic style in the first century BC. It was probably dedicated to Jupiter, Juno and Minerva. The sanctum of the temple is walled and is used for regular exhibitions of comtemporary art.
Close by is the Carré d'Art, a new building of stone, glass and steel designed by the British architect Norman Foster. The building opened in 1993 and houses a permanent gallery of contemporary art.
In the Fountain Gardens there are the ruins of a much less brought by aqueduct from Pont du Gard. The start of the ten canals that distributed the water can be seen at this most interesting site, the only other example of which is at Pompeii. Finally, the Porte d'Auguste is the old gateway through the town walls. Through it ran the Via Domitia.
Finally, Nîmes has an excellent planetarium, to the north of Porte d'Augustus on the flank of Mont Duplan and, for younger visitors, the Aquatropic, a water park with slides and a wave-making machine.
East from Nîmes, and reachable by going north from Arles, are the twin towns of Beaucaire and Tarascon, staring at each other from opposite sides of the Rhône. well-preserved Roman temple of Diana, together with the remains of the town's baths. Close by, the Magne Tower is of first century AD construction and is believed to have been part of the Roman town's defensive ramparts. Elsewhere, the castellum was the collecting basin for the water brought by aqueduct from Pont du Gard. The start of the ten canals that distributed the water can be seen at this most interesting site, the only other example of which is at Pompeii. Finally, the Porte d'Auguste is the old gate-way through the town walls. Through it ran the Via Domitia.
Finally, Nîmes has an excellent planetarium, to the north of Porte d'Augustus on the flank of Mont Duplan and, for younger visitors, the Aquatropic, a water park with slides and a wave-making machine.
East from Nîmes, and reachable by going north from Arles, are the twin towns of Beaucaire and Tarascon, staring at each other from opposite sides of the Rhône. |
