Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
vantage(overthewidest,andthereforeslowest,partoftheriver);thetheater(withitsmag-
nificent stage wall); the arena (with its movable stadium cover to shelter spectators from
sunorrain);andthehydraulicmillofBarbegal(withits16waterwheelspoweredbywater
cascading down a hillside).
You'll also see displays of pottery, jewelry, metal, and glass artifacts, and well-craf-
ted mosaic floors that illustrate how Roman Arles was a city of art and culture. The many
statues
arealloriginal,exceptforthegreatest—the
VenusofArles
,whichLouisXIVtook
a liking to and had moved to Versailles. It's now in the Louvre—and, as locals say, “When
it's in Paris...bye-bye.”
The statue of Caesar Augustus stood in the center of Arles' theater stage wall.
Throughout the hall you'll come across expertly carved pagan and early-Christian
sarco-
phagi
(from the second to fifth centuries
A.D.
). These would have lined the Via Aurelia
outsidethetownwall.IntheearlydaysoftheChurch,Jesuswasoftenportrayedbeardless
and as the good shepherd, with a lamb over his shoulder.
The museum's newest and most exciting exhibit is the
Gallo-Roman vessel
and
much of its cargo. This almost-100-foot-long Roman barge was pulled out of the Rhône
in 2010, along with some 280 amphorae and 3,000 ceramic artifacts (you'll pass a worth-
while video—just before entering the room—describing how the barge was removed from
the river). It was typical of flat-bottomed barges used to shuttle goods between Arles
and ports along the Mediterranean (vessels were manually towed upriver). The same hall
showsalargemodel ofthe chariot racecourse. Part ofthe original racecourse wasjust out-
side the windows, and though long gone, it must have resembled Rome's Circus Maximus
in its day.
Ideally, visit these sights in the order listed below. I've included some walking directions
