The Architecture of Provence and the Riviera

by David MacGibbon

FIG. 26. LE PONT DU GARD.

Pont du Gard ([Fig. 26]). This magnificent specimen of Roman engineering is situated at a distance of about 13 miles N.E. from Nimes, on the way to Avignon, and can now be reached by rail. It formed part of an aqueduct (partly in tunnel and partly in open canal) of about 25 miles in length, which brought an ample supply of water to Nimes. This work is said to have been built by M. Agrippa, son-in-law of Augustus, 19 years B.C. It has thus for 1900 years defied all the attacks of man, both barbarian and civilised, as well as the elements, to which so many other Roman monuments have succumbed, and still stands almost as perfect as at first. The arcades abut at either end on the slope of the hills at the base of which flows the river Gardon. The aqueduct measures 160 feet in height, and 882 feet in length on the top. It is composed of three stages, all built with enormous blocks of stone placed together without cement, and presents probably the most stupendous example of the solidity of Roman workmanship in Gaul. But it is roughly and irregularly constructed, as if utility alone had been considered, and no regard paid to beauty; the arches are unequal in span, and the structure itself is bent in its length. The arches are constructed, those of the two upper arcades with three, and those of the lower arcade with four distinct courses in the breadth of the structure. These courses are composed of stones of immense size, placed side by side, but not otherwise joined together. Above the upper tier lies the conduit for the water, 5 feet high, and 2 feet wide, covered over with immense flags, which even the Goths seem to have despaired of being able to destroy. The conduit is lined with strong Roman cement, which still remains sound and good. The projecting blocks observed on the flanks and under the arches were intended to receive scaffolding for the execution of repairs, should these ever be required in a work so simple and substantial. “What a grand faith,” exclaims Mérimée, “must the constructors of this aqueduct have had in the eternal duration of the Roman Empire, when they made provision for repairing this gigantic and enduring work!” The bridge placed alongside the lower arches is of modern construction, having been erected in 1743.

Leaving Arles for Marseilles we traverse a country as bare and uninteresting as an African desert. To the right, on the western side of the Rhone, lies the great plain of the Camargue, the delta of the river, composed of mingled salt mud and stagnant pools, the result of the contest between the waters of the Rhone and the sea; the former constantly pouring down immense volumes of débris, and the latter, obeying the impulse of the wind, as constantly driving it back upon the land. But the railway, keeping on the eastern side of the river, runs through a different but not less remarkable plain called the “Crau.” This consists of an immense accumulation of shingle, composed of water-worn and rounded stones of all sizes—the fabled scene of the fight of Hercules with the Ligurians, when Jupiter rained down these stones to provide the hero with ammunition. This extensive plain was a barren wilderness until a system of irrigation was introduced by the construction of the Canal de Craponne, whereby the water of the Durance is brought down for its fertilisation. Having at last crossed the Crau we arrive at St Chamas, where the eye is relieved by the bright and peaceful prospect over the Etang de Berre, an extensive branch of the Mediterranean almost entirely surrounded with land. St Chamas is a quaint old town, with some of its houses hollowed out of the rock and traces of ancient ramparts. About half-a-mile distant may be seen an interesting Roman Bridge called the Pont Flavia. It is constructed with the usual solid masonry, and spans the river Touloubre with one arch, which is abutted by the rocky banks. The entrance at either end to the roadway over the bridge is through an arch, decorated with Corinthian columns and entablature. These archways are well preserved and are illustrated in Fergusson’s “Handbook of Architecture.” The columns are surmounted with lions, and the frieze bears an inscription shewing that the structure was erected by one of the Flavii.

Some distance north from this, on the slope of the chain of the Vernégues, which divides the valley of the Durance from that of the Rhone, are to be found the relics of a small Corinthian temple, originally preceded with a peristyle of four columns in front, and pilasters of return on each side, of which, however, only one single pillar now survives. This was doubtless the site of the ancient Ernaginum.

In early Christian times this temple seems to have been converted into a church, and a circular-headed window opened in the wall of the cella. A chapel dedicated to St Césaire was in the tenth century erected against the north wall, with a door into the main church, now built up. The temple is well illustrated in Texier and Pullan’s “Byzantine Architecture,” and is said to be “full of the sentiment of pure Greek art.” The carving of the capital, as shewn in Texier’s drawing, is in the best style. “The proportions of the entire column, which are excellent,” says Texier “and the foliage of the capital, which seems to have been inspired by that of the monument to Lysicrates, prove that this little building, concealed amongst the mountains of Provence, was the work of a Greek artist of the colony of Massilia.”

It has already been pointed out how capriciously the Roman remains have been preserved in Southern Gaul. While a small provincial town like Nimes possesses so many splendid examples, the great and ancient cities of Marseilles and Narbonne have scarcely a single relic of their Greek or Roman civilisation left. At Marseilles some fragments of walls with an archway and some subterranean vaults under the Church of St Sauveur are the only remains of the splendid edifices which no doubt once adorned this ancient and important city.

All along the coast between the Rhone and the Pyrenees, many towns existed and flourished under the Empire, but there is now scarcely a fragment of Roman work to be found in the whole province.

Leaving therefore for the present this south-western district, we shall now follow the great Aurelian way which conducted from Spain and Gaul eastward into Italy. This road passes through the celebrated Riviera, the favourite winter resort of the delicate from every country in Europe, and even from America. It consists of a narrow strip of land between the lower spurs of the Alps and the sea; but this level strip is frequently interrupted by branches or roots sent down from the mountains which run out as Capes into the Mediterranean, enclosing in their arms beautifully sheltered sunny bays, each having a town or village of its own. The Roman road clung to the mountains, the engineers finding it easier to span with bridges the higher rugged ravines of the torrents than the broad channels of the rivers near their mouths, where the shingly and shifting foundation was found insecure. Of the towns and stations which existed along this route in Roman times, some vestiges may still be traced.

Toulon, now the great naval arsenal of France in the Mediterranean (formerly Telo Martius), contains no Roman buildings; but some miles to the eastward, on the road by the coast leading to Hyères, the ruins of an ancient Roman town called Pomponiana have been discovered and partly excavated—exposing to view portions of the walls of houses, vaults, walls of enceinte, frescoes, fragments of sculpture, aqueducts, baths, &c. The wall of a quay presents the peculiarity of being built above a basement formed of large cubes of stone, superimposed, but not united with cement, which seems to be of Cyclopean work.