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The Camargue: Principle Destinations:

Sometimes referred to as the Gateway to the Camargue, technically, Arles is the Camargue. The township includes most of the land within the two branches of the Rhône – about two-thirds of the Camargue – making it, at 170,000 acres, physically the biggest town in France. Of course, since most of the population of 52,000 is concentrated in a relatively small area, just below the branching of the Rhône, Arles gives the impression of a compact, Gallo-Roman city.

Founded by the seagoing Phocéans in about 700 BC, it was originally called Theline, a name perhaps reflected in tellines, the prized local clams. The city was part of the trade route between Massalia (today’s Marseille) and inland settlements. Three hundred years later, as a Ligurian trading settlement, it became Arelate, which may have meant “the town by the marshes” in their language. By the time the Romans arrived, about 150 BC, it was a prosperous river port.


Roman Amphitheatre in Arles (© Ferne Arfin)

During the first century BC, Julius Caesar gave the land, taken from Massalian Greeks and local tribes, to victorious Roman Legions. It eventually became a kind of second capital of the Roman Empire, known in Roman writings of the period as “The Little Rome of Gaul.” As befitting a major Roman center, it had a number of impressive public buildings. So many of these remain part of Arlesian life that the city has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Amphithéâtre, built about 90 AD, and the Théâtre Antique are both regularly used for sports events, music and drama. The Alyscamps, a Roman and early Christian cemetery, Les Thermes de Constantin and the mysterious Cryptoportiques du Forum suggest how Roman citizens lived. An archway that is one of the few remains of the Roman Forum is built right into the façade of a local hotel. The remains of a huge Roman Circus where as many as 20,000 could watch chariot races, is currently being excavated. An obelisque from the site graces the Place de la République, in front of the town hall.


Place de la République, Arles, with obelisk from the Roman Circus (© Ferne Arfin)

Virtually destroyed by barbarians during the Dark Ages, Arles was rebuilt by Charlemagne in the ninth century. For a while it was the capital of an independent kingdom before being absorbed into Provence in the 16th century. The beautiful Cathedral of St. Trophime, with its Gothic and Romanesque cloister, dates from this period.

Gracious town houses testify to the prosperity of Arlesian merchants during the 17th and 18th centuries.

In the 19th century, Van Gogh lived and worked in and around Arles. When, in 1888, Van Gogh cut off his ear, he was taken to the Hotel-Dieu, a 16th-century hospital with a galleried garden which he painted. Today, known as the Espace Van Gogh, the building is a cultural and educational center. The garden can be visited.

 
 
Dictionary: Arles  (ärlz, ärl) pronunciation

A city of south-central France on the Rhone River delta. A flourishing city in Roman times, it is the site of many ancient remains, including a Roman cemetery and an arena built in the second century A.D. Population: 52,600.

 

 

City (pop., 1999: 50,453), southeastern France. Occupied and built up by the Romans in the 1st century BC, Arles became, through commerce, a leading city of the Roman Empire. In the 10th century AD it became the capital of Burgundy, known also as the kingdom of Arles. Portions of the Roman wall around the old town remain, and a Roman arena of the 1st century BC is still used for bullfights and plays. The city was home to Vincent van Gogh during one of his most productive periods. Arles is still a river port, but its economy is based largely on tourism and agriculture.

For more information on Arles, visit Britannica.com.

 
(ärl) , city (1990 pop. 52,543), Bouches-du-Rhône dept., S central France, in Provence, on the Rhône River delta. Arles is an important railroad, shipping, agriculture, and industrial center with varied manufactures. It was a flourishing Roman town (Arelas) and the metropolis of Gaul in the late Roman Empire. Constantine I convoked (314) a synod at Arles that condemned Donatism; Constantine II was born there. Arles was an archiepiscopal see from the 4th cent. until 1790 and the seat of many synods. It became (879) the capital of Provence and (933) of the kingdom of Arles (see separate article). In the 12th cent. it became a free city governed by an elected podestat, who appointed the consuls and other magistrates. Arles retained its special status until the French Revolution. Among its noteworthy attractions are a Roman arena (2d cent. A.D.), seating 26,000 and now used for bullfights; a Roman theater (1st or 2d cent. A.D.); the Aliscamps [i.e., Elysian Fields], remains of a Roman cemetery; the Church of St. Trophime (11th–15th cent.; formerly a cathedral); the town hall (17th cent.); and the Museon Arlaten, a museum of Provençal culture and folklore, installed in a 16th-century mansion by Frédéric Mistral, who was born near Arles. Arles has attracted many painters, notably Van Gogh and Gauguin.


 
Wikipedia: Arles

Coordinates: 43°40′41″N, 04°37′46″E

Commune of Arles
Arlesarenes.png
The Roman arena in Arles

Location
Image:Paris_plan_pointer_b_jms.gif
Map highlighting the commune of
Coordinates 43°40′41″N, 04°37′46″E
Administration
Country France
Region Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Department Bouches-du-Rhône
(Subprefecture)
Arrondissement Arles
Canton Chief town of 2 cantons: Arles-Est and Arles-Ouest
Intercommunality Agglomeration community of Arles-Crau-Camargue-Montagnette
Mayor Hervé Schiavetti (PS)
(2001-2008)
Statistics
Altitude 0 m–57 m
(avg. 10 m)
Land area¹ 758.93 km²
Population²
(2005)
52,600
 - Density 66/km² (2005)
Miscellaneous
INSEE/Postal code 13004/ 13200
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.
2 Population sans doubles comptes: single count of residents of multiple communes (e.g. students and military personnel).
France
Arles, Roman and Romanesque Monuments*
UNESCO World Heritage Site

Ruins at the Roman theatre.
State Party Flag of France France
Type Cultural
Criteria ii, iv
Reference 164
Region Europe and North America
Inscription History
Inscription 1981  (5th Session)
* Name as inscribed on World Heritage List.
Region as classified by UNESCO.

Arles (Provençal Occitan: Arle in both classical and Mistralian norms) is a city in the south of France, in the Bouches-du-Rhône department, of which it is a subprefecture, in the former province of Provence.

Geography

The Rhône river forks into two branches just upstream of Arles, forming the Camargue delta. Because the Camargue is administratively part of Arles, the commune as a whole is the largest commune in Metropolitan France in terms of territory, although its population is only slightly more than 50,000. Its area is 758.93 km², which is more than seven times the area of Paris.

History

For the Ecclesiastical history see Archbishopric of Arles

Roman Arles

Arles was established by the Greeks as early as the 6th century BC under the name of Theline. It was captured by the Celtic Salluvii in 535 BC, who renamed it to Arelate. 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 (Marseille) 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. The town was formally established as a colony for veterans of the Roman legion Legio VI Ferrata, which had its base there. Its full title as a colony was Colonia Iulia Paterna Arelatensium Sextanorum, "the ancestral Julian colony of Arles of the soldiers of the Sixth."

Importance

Roman Arelate was a city of considerable importance in the province of Gallia Narbonensis. It covered an area of some 99 acres (400,000 m²) and possessed a wide array of monuments, including an amphitheater, triumphal arch, Roman circus, theater and a full circuit of walls. It 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. Very unusually, the Roman bridge was not fixed but used a pontoon-style bridge of boats, with towers and drawbridges at each end. The boats were secured in place with anchors and by being tethered to twin towers built just upstream of the bridge. This unusual design was a way of coping with the river's frequent violent floods, which would have made short work of a conventional bridge. Nothing now remains of the Roman bridge, which has been replaced by a more modern bridge near the same spot.

The city reached a peak of influence during the 4th and 5th centuries, when it was frequently used as headquarters for Roman Emperors 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).

It 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 there. 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. It was the birthplace of the skeptical philosopher Favorinus. It was also a key location for Roman Christianity and an important base for the Christianization of Gaul. The city's bishopric was held by a series of outstanding clerics, beginning with Saint Trophimus around 225 and continuing with Saint Honoré, then Saint Hilary in the first half of the 5th century. The political tension between the Catholic bishops of Arles and the Visigothic kings is epitomized in the career of the Frankish St Caesarius, bishop of Arles 503–542, who was suspected by the Arian Visigoth Alaric II of conspiring with the Burgundians to turn over the Arelate to Burgundy, and was exiled for a year to Bordeaux in Aquitaine, and again in 512 when Arles held out against Theodoric the Great, Caesarius was imprisoned and sent to Ravenna to explain his actions before the Ostrogothic king.[1]

The friction between the Arian Christianity of the Visigoths and the Catholicism of the bishops sent out from Rome established deep roots for religious heterodoxy, even heresy, in Occitan culture. At Treves in 385, Priscillian achieved the distinction of becoming the first Christian burned alive for heresy (Manichaean in his case, see also Cathars, Camisards). Despite this tension and the city's decline in the face of barbarian invasions, Arles remained a great religious centre and host of church councils (see Council of Arles), the rival of Vienne, for hundreds of years.

Cloister of Saint Trophimus.
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Cloister of Saint Trophimus.

Medieval Arles

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, but was frequently terrorised by Saracen and Viking raiders. In 888, Rodolphe, Count of Auxerre (now in north-western Burgundy), founded the kingdom of Bourgogne Transjurane (literally, beyond the Jura mountains), which included western Switzerland as far as the river Reuss, Valais, Geneva, Chablais and Bugey.

In 933, Hugh of Arles ("Hugues de Provence") gave his kingdom up to Rodolphe II, who merged the two kingdoms into a new Kingdom of Arles. In 1032, King Rodolphe III died, and the Kingdom was inherited by Emperor Conrad II the Salic. Though his successors counted themselves kings of Arles, few went to be crowned in the cathedral. 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 French Revolution of 1789.

Arles joined the countship of Provence in 1239 but suffered its prominence being eclipsed once more by Marseille. 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.

Modern Arles

The Place Du Forum in Arles today.
Enlarge
The Place Du Forum in Arles today.

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.

Cafe Terrace at Night by Vincent Van Gogh (September 1888). It depicts the warmth of a café in Arles.
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Cafe Terrace at Night by Vincent Van Gogh (September 1888). It depicts the warmth of a café in Arles.
Portal of Saint Trophimus cathedral.
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Portal of Saint Trophimus cathedral.
Garlic stand in the Arles street market.
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Garlic stand in the Arles street market.
Arlésiennes in costume.
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Arlésiennes in costume.
View of the city center, with the Rhone in the background.
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View of the city center, with the Rhone in the background.
Roman arena, inside view.
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Roman arena, inside view.

This made it an attractive destination for the painter Vincent van Gogh, who arrived there on 21 February 1888. He was fascinated by the Provençal landscapes, producing over 300 paintings and drawings during his time in Arles. Many of his most famous paintings were completed there, including The Night Cafe, the Yellow Room, Starry Night Over the Rhone, and L'Arlésienne. Paul Gauguin visited van Gogh in Arles. However, van Gogh's mental health deteriorated and he became alarmingly eccentric, culminating in the infamous ear-severing incident in December 1888. The concerned Arlesians circulated a petition the following February demanding that van Gogh be confined. In May 1889 he took the hint and left Arles for the asylum at nearby Saint-Rémy-de-Provence.

Economy

Arles is the center of a large agricultural area, and other household products as well as clothing are sold at the street market that occurs on the Boulevard des Lices every Saturday.

Relatively important rice paddies and salt pans are located in Camargue.

Main sights

Arles has important remains of Roman times, which have been listed as World Heritage Sites since 1981. They include:

The Church of St. Trophime (Saint Trophimus), formerly a cathedral, is a major work of Romanesque architecture, and the representation of the Last Judgment on its portal is considered one of the finest examples of Romanesque sculpture, as are the columns in the adjacent cloister.

Spice stand in the Arles street market.
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Spice stand in the Arles street market.

The town also has an outstanding museum of ancient history, the Musée de l'Arles et de la Provence antiques, with one of the best collections of Roman sarcophagi to be found anywhere outside Rome itself. Another museum is the Museon Arlaten. However, perhaps surprisingly given the town's importance to van Gogh, none of his works are on display in Arles.

Miscellaneous

The Arlésiens (citizens of Arles) were noted for distinctive traditional dress which is now worn publicly at certain festivals and occasions.

A famous photography festival takes place in Arles every year, and the French national school of photography is located there. The major French publishing house Actes Sud is also situated in Arles.

The film Ronin was partially filmed in Arles.

Bull fights are conducted in the Roman amphitheater, including Provencal-style bullfights (courses camarguaises) in which the bull is not killed but rather a team of athletic men attempt to remove a tassle from the bull's horn without getting injured. Every Easter and on the first weekend of September, Arles also holds Spanish-style corridas (in which the bulls are killed) with an encierro (bull-running in the streets) preceding each fight.

People

Twin towns

Arles is twinned with:

See also

Sources and external links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

References


 
 

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Copyrights:

Adventure Guide. Provence & the Côte d'Azur. Copyright © 2004 by Hunter Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Arles" Read more

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