Arles, Roman and Romanesque Monuments
Encyclopedia
Arles, Roman and Romanesque Monuments (French: Arles, monuments romains et romans) is an area containing a collection of monuments in the city centre of Arles
, France
, that has been listed as a UNESCO
World Heritage Site
since 1981.
The official brief description for this as a World Heritage Site is:
The protected area covers 65 ha. The following buildings are located within this area:
Arles
Arles is a city and commune in the south of France, in the Bouches-du-Rhône department, of which it is a subprefecture, in the former province of Provence....
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, that has been listed as a UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
World Heritage Site
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
since 1981.
The official brief description for this as a World Heritage Site is:
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 protected area covers 65 ha. The following buildings are located within this area:
- Arles AmphitheatreArles AmphitheatreThe Arles Amphitheatre is a Roman amphitheatre in the southern French town of Arles. This two-tiered Roman Amphitheatre is probably the most prominent tourist attraction in the city of Arles, which thrived in Roman times....
- The Roman theatreRoman theatre (structure)The characteristics of Roman to those of the earlier Greek theatres due in large part to its influence on the Roman triumvir Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus. Much of the architectural influence on the Romans came from the Greeks, and theatre structural design was no different from other buildings...
- CryptoporticusCryptoporticusIn Ancient Roman architecture a cryptoporticus is a covered corridor or passageway. The usual English is "cryptoportico". The cryptoportico is a semi-subterranean gallery whose vaulting supports portico structures aboveground and which is lit from openings at the tops of its arches...
and Roman forumForum (Roman)A forum was a public square in a Roman municipium, or any civitas, reserved primarily for the vending of goods; i.e., a marketplace, along with the buildings used for shops and the stoas used for open stalls... - The ThermesThermaeIn ancient Rome, thermae and balnea were facilities for bathing...
of Constantine - Ramparts of the Roman castrum
- The AlyscampsAlyscampsThe Alyscamps is a large Roman necropolis, which is a short distance outside the walls of the old town of Arles, France. It was one of the most famous necropolises of the ancient world. The name is a corruption of the Latin Elisii Campi...
- The Church of St. TrophimeChurch of St. TrophimeThe Church of St. Trophime is a Roman Catholic church and former cathedral built between the 12th century and the 15th century in the city of Arles, in the Bouches-du-Rhône Department of southern France...
- Roman exedraExedraIn architecture, an exedra is a semicircular recess or plinth, often crowned by a semi-dome, which is sometimes set into a building's facade. The original Greek sense was applied to a room that opened onto a stoa, ringed with curved high-backed stone benches, a suitable place for a philosophical...
(Muséon Arlaten)