Pont du Gard & Arles Arena – Provence France , fascinating Roman Ruins
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Romans ring amphitheaters in the city of atas are AR remains of the amphitheater in Aras still sturdy
Pont du Gard. Built in the 1st century AD, this magnificent Roman bridge was part of an aqueduct system that brought water from its source in Uzès to the city of Nîmes, which was the capital of the Roman province in southern France. What’s makes this UNESCO Word Heritage Site event more impressive is that it’s one of the best-preserved Roman ruins in the world.
The engineering marvels that are hallmarks of the Roman Empire and Pont du Gard is no exception. While most of the 31-mile aqueduct is underground, here it rises high above the Gardon River with 3 levels of arches (originally spanning 1,200 feet in length and 160 feet in height) built entirely without mortar to supply the city of Nîmes with 9 million gallons of water a day for its villas, baths, fountains and other Roman comforts.
How to Get There :
Pont do Gard is best reached by car and is about 30 minutes from Avignon or Nîmes and 45 minutes from Arles. Buses and trains are also available from some major cities. You’ll find parking on both sides of the river, however the Rive Gauche/Left Bank parking lot is a better bet as it’s steps away from the complex that houses the visitor center, museum, cinema, cafeteria, shops and restrooms. Guided tours also depart from this location.
It took about 5 years to build the bridge and 20 years total for the full aqueduct, which was functioning from 60 AD to 500 AD when it essentially dried up thanks to calcium deposits. The bridge itself was preserved in the Middle Ages as it was deemed an efficient passage across the river, which continued with various expansions into the 1700s that eventually allowed for passage by car. By 1865 a tunnel was dug to bring water via lead pipes to Nîmes for its booming textile industry, which included the production of a certain type of canvas called “serge de Nîmes”, which was later brought to the U.S. by Levi Strauss who used the sturdy fabric to make denim jeans (another fun fact, Strauss got the blue dye from Genoa, Italy, hence the name jeans).
PONT DU GARD BY THE NUMBERS:
At 160 feet tall, Pont du Gard was once the second highest standing Roman structure after the Colosseum in Rome, which was 6 feet taller
The aqueduct spans more than 31 miles with a drop of only 40 feet over its entire length.
More than 9 million gallons of water made its trip from the source to its destination in Nîmes in roughly 24 hours (that’s about 100 gallons per second!)
Nearly 50,000 tons of stone make up Pont du Gard, which was constructed entirely without mortar.
Arles, Roman and Romanesque Monuments:
similarly, the Roman ruins in Arles are fascinating as well. Arles is a good example of the adaptation of an ancient city to medieval European civilization. It has some impressive Roman monuments, of which the earliest – the arena, the Roman theatre and the cryptoporticus (subterranean galleries) – date back to the 1st century B.C. During the 4th century Arles experienced a second golden age, as attested by the baths of Constantine and the necropolis of Alyscamps. In the 11th and 12th centuries, Arles once again became one of the most attractive cities in the Mediterranean. Within the city walls, Saint-Trophime, with its cloister, is one of Provence’s major Romanesque monuments.
The Arles Amphitheatre is a Roman amphitheatre in Arles, southern France. Two-tiered, it is probably the most prominent tourist attraction in the city which thrived in Ancient Rome. The towers jutting out from the top are medieval add-ons.