When you think of well-preserved Roman construction, you obviously think of Nimes, right?  Neither did we, until this trip.  An ancient city of importance during Roman times, Nimes has many remnants of the old Roman city, most still in use.  We visited two of them, the Maison Carré and the Amphitheater.

The Maison Carré was started in the 1st century BC and was modeled after the temple to Apollo in Rome.  Over the years it has seen many uses, uses that have removed all traces of the original purpose.  The exterior is impressive and reminds one of the pictures you see of Athens.  The interior, on the other hand, is, well, an unadorned square.

The Amphitheater is impressive. Built in the 1st or 2nd century AD for blood-sport, it could originally held 24,000 spectators.  Will the fall of the Roman empire, the amphitheater has seen use, among other things, as a village and a fortress.  Today, it has been restored and is used for bullfights and concerts, seating up to 7,000 people.

In an age where 25 year old stadiums are considered too old to be functional, there is something exciting about sitting in a 2000 year old building still in use for the purpose for which it was originally built--in this case entertainment.  In fact, while we were there, a stage and loud speakers were installed for a concert to be held later in the week.

 

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Page created on 03 Jan 2002