Provence (2)

Moving to a new accommodation also brings me to a different part of Provence, completely different from Luberon.

The new base camp is in Beaucaire. The site on the hill on which the castle stands was also that of the former settlement of Ugernum, the ancient Roman city.

This is what an evening looks like, at the moment :)

Arles, with its amphitheater, its cloister and its theater.

But also with its ancient cemetery.
The name "Alyscamps", the Champs Elysées in Provencal, means the City of the Dead it was used during almost 2000 years before becoming a monument in the 20th century.

Then a stop at the Museum to get more information on the archeaological findings in the area.

Montmajour Abbey, which derives its origins from the creation of a cemetery.
The monks would bury the dead, celebrate private masses requested by the families and, in exchange, would receive payments or wills.
Here, the graves were carved into the rock.

In Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, you can see the ruins of an ancient Roman settlement, Glanum.

Les-Baux-de-Provence, with its medieval fortress, which hosts historical reconstitutions during the summer. Built on a narrow spur some 200 meters long, the castle offered a defensive military profile during the Middle Ages. In 1631, a royal decree ordered the fortifications and the castle walls to be demolished, leaving them in ruins.

Those sculptures, which are more than 5 meters high and weigh 400 kilos, represent giant heads inspired by Giuseppe Arcimboldo's Four Seasons. The artist's name is Philip Haas.

Pont-du-Gard, the best preserved part of a 50 km long Roman aqueduc.
The average slope of the canal was 25 cm / km, which is absolutely incredible with such a length, with an average flow of 35 000 cube meters a day.

The castle in Tarascon, amazingly well preserved.

Les-Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, where the gypsies gather from all over Europe once a year, and this will happen in just a few days. So the atmosphere is already very special.

Aigues-Mortes, a city built by Saint Louis to develop the trading economy in the South of France. From its walls, you can see the salt flat all around the town.

Nîmes, with more Roman monuments: its amphitheater, the "Square House" (an ancient temple) and the Magne Tower, the only one left of the 80 towers which were protecting the city.

Roman Orange was founded in 35 BC by veterans of the second legion, with its theater, its Triumphal Arch and its museum.

Enough Roman ruins for this blog, time to show you something else, with Avignon, its Papal Palace and its famous bridge