In Provence, the Romans Were Everywhere

One of the best-preserved Roman theatres anywhere in Europe is in the town of Orange, in the Provence region of France. Orange was a Roman colony in the first century B.C., around the height of the Roman empire, and a huge piece of evidence of that is the amphitheatre, called Theatre d’Orange. It’s one of several UNESCO World Heritage Sites we have visited on this Penn State Alumni Association trip. The amphitheatre is huge -- the stage and the stone wall behind it are both enormous -- and, in case you have any doubts about the origins of the place, the wall includes a bust of Augustus Caesar. The fact that the wall has lasted 2,000 years is pretty amazing. The theatre is still used today -- there’s an opera festival there every summer, among other events.

Also in Orange is an Arc de Triomphe, or triumphal arch, which the Romans built over a five-year period, from 22 to 27 A.D. (I would love to know how historians can narrow such things down to the exact year.) The arch commemorates the conquering of Gaul about 100 years earlier; the Romans had a way of erecting huge monuments to let you know exactly who was in control. The arch is ornately decorated with images reflecting war themes. Today it’s in the middle of a traffic roundabout or rotary, so as you admire it, the cars and motor scooters are whizzing by all around you.

An ancient Roman necropolis, or cemetery, has also been found near Orange.

After we visited Orange, we paid a visit to another UNESCO World Heritage site, and one of France’s top five tourist sites: Pont du Gard. By now I have figured out that “pont” means bridge, and sure enough, Pont du Gard is so named because it serves as a bridge over the river Gardon. Pont du Gard was an aqueduct, originally 30 miles long, and was designed to channel water from springs in the mountains to the town of Nimes, where it provided water to fountains, public baths, and even houses. The Romans were unbelievably advanced -- historians and engineers marvel today at the fact that some houses in ancient Rome had running water, considering that it wouldn’t be until the 19th century, almost 2,000 years later, before other societies would figure out how to do that.

Coming up in the next dispatch: Wandering the markets of the lovely town of Isle-sur-la-Sorgue.

Photos

This immense and extremely well-preserved theatre in the town of Orange is still used today, for concerts ranging from opera to rock.

This museum is across from Theatre Antique d’Orange, the ancient Roman theatre in the town of Orange. We didn’t visit the museum, but it was so beautiful we couldn’t help taking pictures of it.

One of the most visited sites in the south of France is the ancient Roman aqueduct Pont du Gard; Built 2,000 years ago, it represented extremely advanced engineering know-how and once extended 30 miles.

Penn State travelers Jerry and Jackie Grossman at the ancient Roman Arc de Triomphe in Orange, France.

Penn Staters Jerry and Joady Gorelick at Pont du Gard, an ancient Roman aqueduct over the Gardon River. Two thousand years ago it supplied water to the town of Nimes; today it's a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Wine-Tasting in the South of France

On Day 4, the Penn State travelers got to do a little wine-tasting. We visited the region known as Chateaneuf de Pape, which is named after the remains of a castle or chateau that served as the summer home for the Avignon popes back in the 14th century. (“Chateauneuf” means “new castle.”) Today the area, which is part of the Rhone River valley, is known for its wine making. Everywhere we drive, we see lots of olive groves, and field after field of grape vines. The fields don’t look like what you’d expect, as the grape vines are pruned back so far that they’re very low to the ground -- maybe two feet high at most -- and their branches have become thick and sturdy over time. That’s to protect them against the wicked Mistral wind, a cold, strong wind that whips through the area during certain times of the year. Some of the vines we saw were 60 or more years old. The fact that they’re so short means you don’t get as many grapes from each one, but over here the wine makers are happy to trade quantity for quality.

The Mistral wind isn’t the only weather challenge that wine makers face: Too much or too little rain is also a worry. The year 2002 was a bad one for wine makers in this region; there was a flood near harvest time, and many people lost not only their grapes but their houses too. One of the travelers in our group asked our host at the vineyard we visited what kind of year 2007 would be, and she said there’s no way to know. “Wine making is 99 percent nature’s affair,” she said. “We won’t know what kind of year this will be until the grapes are in the tank.”

There are 300-some wine makers in this region, producing an astounding 13 million bottles a year -- mostly red wines but also some whites and roses. The best of them qualify for the “A.O.C.” designation, which stands for Appellation d’Origine Controlee; it means that the grapes have been grown according to certain standards and have been picked by hand -- no machines allowed -- and the wine is of the highest quality. The next time you’re shopping for French wine in the U.S., look on the bottle and see if you can find “A.O.C.” listed on the label. Around here the A.O.C. gold standard can be found not only on wine, but also on olive oil and other products.

Another term we hear a lot around here is “Cotes du Rhone,” which I think just means that the wine came from this region; the term “Cotes du Rhone” translates to “the banks of the Rhone River.” One of the Penn State travelers told us that the name has spawned another type of wine: “Goats Do Roam” -- and, sure enough, if you Google that phrase, you find a wine maker by that name in South Africa. Go to http://www.goatsdoroam.com/ if you don’t believe me!

A few of the travelers bought wine to take home with them, although the new airport security restrictions mean you can no longer take the wine in your carry-on luggage. Instead you have to swaddle the bottles in dirty laundry, put them in your check-through luggage, and hope for the best. Shipping the wine home from here isn't an option either, as it would be prohibitively expensive -- for six bottles it would have been something like 200 Euros, which translates to well over $250.

On the same day that we visited the wine country, we also went to the town of Orange, home of two very impressive ancient Roman ruins. More on them in the next dispatch.

Photo

This arch is part of the ruins of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, the 14th-century summer home of the French popes. The site offers a superb view of the Provence countryside. Today Châteauneuf-du-Pape is the name of a village and region well known for its wines.

The vineyards in the Rhône River valley, like this one in the Châteauneuf-du-Pape region, feature grapevines that are pruned to be very short. That helps them survive the powerful Mistral winds that blow through southern France.