Lions vs. Christians

Arles (week 4) 

Modern seating in the Roman Amphitheatre

In the civil war between Pompey and Caesar in 49-45 BC, Marseille had the unfortunate luck to have chosen to side with the loser.  Therefore, its treasures and influence were carted off to Arles, which had sided with Caesar.  As a result, there are many Roman ruins in Arles, some of them well-restored.  Perhaps more interestingly, the French government has restored them to a usable condition, so the Theatre holds shows (with incongruous modern stage lighting surrounded by Roman stone seating), and the Amphitheatre (Arène in French) is used for bullfights twice a week in the summer.  As you can see from the picture in the Amphitheatre, they have installed modern steel scaffold seating in the upper tier and wooden in the lower.  The building was used as a fortification in the Middle Ages, thus the medieval towers (sticking up above the seating) not original to the Romans.  The rest of the building is mostly restored Roman, except the actual ring where the bullfights take place, which basically looks the same as any rodeo arena.

We spent some time in the Amphitheatre, the kids poking their heads into various nooks and crannies.  We also took in the remains of the Thermae (baths), which has been cleared of non-Roman structures but not restored.  We didn't have time to go into the Theatre, but you can see the layout from outside.

Van Gogh's hospital garden

Arles's other claim to fame is that Vincent van Gogh lived there for a while, painting hundreds of painting in and of the town, as well as being the site of his infamous ear-removal.  Unfortunately, there are no actual paintings in Arles's art museums, and his Yellow House was destroyed in WWII.  You can visit the site of the hospital where he was cared for during his various illnesses (including getting stitched up for the ear).  And, of course, you can buy Absinthe in every corner store.