The Romans established quite a few colonies in the south of France during the first century B.C., and there’s plenty of evidence still available today to prove it. Lots of well-preserved Roman ruins have been found throughout Provence: temples, theatres, amphitheatres, public baths, triumphal arches, an aqueduct, and necropolises (cemeteries). They’re constantly finding Roman ruins throughout Provence, even today.
One ancient Roman colony, originally known as Arelate, eventually became the modern-day town of Arles. Even as a Roman settlement 2,000 years ago, it was sizeable: 25,000 people lived here.
More recently, Arles (which I’ve heard pronounced as either “Arl” or “Ar-leh”) is known as the place where Vincent Van Gogh spent a year of his life and painted about 200 paintings. He spent another year of his life not far from here in St-Rémy—more about that later. Our group of Penn State travelers saw the site that inspired his painting “The Yellow House” (1888), but the yellow house itself is no longer standing; that’s because it was in an area that was bombed in World War II—specifically June 1944, during the liberation of Arles.
We also saw the very café that Van Gogh painted in “Café at Night, Place du Forum, Arles” (1888)—it’s still standing. And we saw the hospital/sanitorium where he spent some time after he cut off part of his ear. He didn’t stop painting while hospitalized; in fact, two of his paintings from this period were “The Garden of the Arles Sanitorium” and “Hospital Room at Arles.”
Also in Arles, we saw a 12th century church called Eglise St-Trophime, named for the man who was the first bishop of Arles. The church is one of several UNESCO World Heritage Sites that the Penn State travelers have visited. The church is known for its collection of religious relics, which at one time supposedly included a portion of the skull of St. Stephen.
Arles has several impressive Roman ruins, including an outdoor theatre that dates to the first century B.C. and that held 10,000 spectators in its day. Better yet is the amphitheatre, which was modeled after the Roman coliseum and which seated 25,000 spectators for gladiator fights. It’s almost entirely intact today, which is pretty amazing. Our trip director from Alumni Holidays, Fred Burke, pointed out how its design is essentially identical to our modern-day stadiums; the approach hasn’t changed much in 2,000 years.
The amphitheatre has been used off and on over those 2,000 years, including throughout medieval times and in the 17th century. Today it’s still used on occasion for bullfights—not the Spanish kind, called corridas, but a local version called Camargue games, where the bull isn’;t killed. Instead the bulls have various trinkets dangling from their horns, and the toreadors have to retrieve the trinkets without getting gored.
Day 3 of the Penn State trip also includes a visit to the “perched village” of Les Baux and a stop at a second hospital where Vincent Van Gogh spent a year, near St-Rémy. More on those excursions in future dispatches.
This archway is on a 12th century church called Eglise St-Trophime. It’s named for the man who was the first bishop of Arles. The church is one of several UNESCO World Heritage Site the Penn State travelers have visited.
A resident of Arles has decorated her windows in a rather entertaining way.
This hotel entrance in Arles is typical of the charm of Provence.
A climb to the top of the ancient Roman amphitheatre in Arles rewards visitors with this view of the city.
The group’s guide shows the Penn State travelers the cafe in Arles where Van Gogh painted “Cafe du Soir.” In the 15 months he lived in Arles, Van Gogh did 300 paintings, but interestingly, the town has none of them today—they're all in museums and private collections elsewhere around the world.
The ancient Roman arena in Arles, Les Arenes, seated 20,000 people when it was built for gladiator fights 2,000 years ago.
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