Provincia Romana
The Romans named this region of Gaul, Provincia Romana, it was their first province beyond the Alps. The name evolved into Provence and evidence of the Roman empire is still seen abundantly throughout this region.
The D-900 Roadway
About 1.5 miles from our rental is the main road that stretches through this region of the Luberon valley. We traveled on it daily, to get to the towns of Avignon and St. Remy de Provence to the west or Apt and supermarkets to the east. It is mostly a 2 lane road, sometimes it splits into 4 lanes with roundabouts every few kilometers. We learned a few weeks into our trip that the road follows the Via Domitia, an ancient road built by the Romans about 120 BC, the first road linking Italy, France (Gaul) and Spain (Hispania).
Pont Julien
One of the original bridges of the Via Domitia built in 3 BC, about 1.5 miles from our rental. This bridge has been in continual operation for over 2,000 years, remarkably it was open to cars until 2005 when a new traffic bridge was built nearby. Today only foot and bicycle traffic are allowed.
The bridge design is noteworthy as the open sections in the supports allow for flood water to pass through.
The Pont du Gard
June 20, 2022
An Engineering Marvel
The Pont du Gard, about 1.25 hours from our rental, is what’s left of a Roman aqueduct built midway through the 1st century AD. It was the principal part of a 31 mile aqueduct system that supplied the city of Nîmes with water. The 164 feet high structure allowed water to flow across the Gardon river.
The bridge is constructed of soft yellow limestone blocks taken from a nearby quarry that borders the river. It is topped by a device designed to bear the water channel whose stone slabs are covered with calcium deposits.
This structure is a technical masterpiece created by Roman architects and hydraulic engineers that measured 1,181 feet at its longest point along the top. Archaeologists have uncovered evidence of how well organized the building of the aqueduct was finding numbering on the stones, points of support for scaffolding and evidence of the use of hoists.
The aqueduct started at a spring at Fontaines d’Eure and delivered water to a basin at Nîmes. The full aqueduct had a vertical gradient of 56 feet to accommodate a steady water flow of 5 million gallons a day.
The aqueduct was constructed without the use of mortar. The stones some of which weigh up to 6 tons were precisely cut to fit perfectly together.
The main work lasted between 10 and 15 years, under the reigns of Claudius and Nero, with the Pont du Gard taking less than five years. The aqueduct in its entirety counts several hundred meters of tunnels, three basins and some twenty bridges, of which the Pont du Gard remains the most spectacular.
It has three vertical rows of arches: 6 on the lowest level, 11 on the second level and 35 on the third and top level. Its upper part reaches a length of 896 feet (originally 1,181 feet when there were twelve extra arches). It served as an aqueduct until the 6th century before becoming a tollgate in the Middle Ages and finally a road bridge from the 18th to 20th century. It is now the most visited ancient monument in France and listed a world heritage site by UNESCO, the Pont du Gard aqueduct remains one of humankind’s great masterpieces.
Glanum
Near the town of Saint Rémy de Provence about 1 hour’s drive from our rental, a Greek city was first settled here in the 6th and 7th centuries BC. Then Glanum became a Roman colony in the very early years of Augustus’ reign 31 BC – 14 AD.
Finally, unable to resist the Alamannic invasions of 260 AD, the town was abandoned by its inhabitants in favor of the nearby settlement that came into the possession of the Abbey of Saint-Remi in Reims.
The ruins include the city’s main street, market, thermal baths, forum, public square, curia or assembly hall, basilica or administrative building, Tuscan temple, well, monuments, shrine, local houses and fountains.
The western relief, shown here, shows a battle scene from the Trojan War: the struggle over the possession of the corpse of Patroclus.
The city of Orange
The Roman Theater at Orange and the Triumphal Arch at Orange, an hour and a quarter drive from our rental house.
Built in the 1st Century AD, it is one of the best preserved Roman theaters in all of Europe. The stage wall stands 121 tall and 328 feet wide. The capacity of the theater in Roman times was over 9,000. Today it hosts an annual summer opera festival.
