Part 2: Roman Provence and the Camargue

by Steve Wells

Provence is the most extreme south east corner of France, bordering Italy. It got its name back in Roman days; it was the first Roman Province outside Italy and still seems to retain more Roman remains per square mile than any other part of the world outside Italy.

As you drive south the ancient Roman influence is apparent well before you reach the amphitheatres of Arles and Nimes, Apparent, that is, if you know where to look. Think back to those schoolbook drawings of Roman villas. Think of those roofs covered with pottery tiles, sloping gently so that the largest possible area of ground is shaded.

Those roofs are still there on almost every farm. The tiles are not flat like modern tiles, they are round, like short lengths of the guttering you have round the edge of the roof on your house. They are laid slightly overlapping up the slope of the roof to provide channels for the water to run off. Then, to fill the gaps, more tiles were laid upside down over the gaps.

But this is not what most people regard as the heritage of Rome, and few people are going to be excited by pictures of roof tiles. The first of the "real" Provencal Roman remains which we visited was the aqueduct known today as the "Pont du Gard". Built in about 19BC to carry water to Nimes, the structure is still in remarkable condition. All the guide books say you can walk over the top, but, when we visited it was shut for repairs, De Rien!

The best view is from upstream; from the south-west. So, go early if you want the early raking light across the stone. Go later in the day if you want the light fully on it. In our case we didn't have the choice - it was cloudy.

Have you ever seen a picture of the south of France overcast? No? Take a look at mine. From the day after we arrived and went to look at the Pont du Gard, until the day we left, it was overcast! It doesn't help when the locals tell you that it is "never like this" and that we "should have been here last week"!

So, what else is there? Well, you could try the Roman theatres and amphitheatre. The French treat such structures as opportunities, not as revered piles. Every theatre we found, and we found several, was clearly set up for use as a modern theatre. New wooden stage floors were laid over the remains of the Roman stone, scaffolding has been erected to support lights and new seats have been installed.

The same is true of the amphitheatre. He tried to visit two; in Nimes and Aries. In Nimes we couldn't get in because "Dire Straits" were playing Nimes that night as part of their latest world tour. Most of Nimes seemed to be being rebuilt; concrete mixers and piles of concrete slabs everywhere.

In Aries we could get into the amphitheatre, but much of the interior had been remodelled for bullfighting. Provencal bullfighting is not the same as those bloody displays you get in Spain. For a start, the bull is not killed. Ribbons are tied between its horns: the bullfighters have to retrieve them. If the bull gets angry the only escape for the bullfighters is over the high wooden fence which surrounds the arena. On occasion an angry bull has been known to crash straight through the fence in which case those spectators with cheaper seats, high up, get additional sport from watching other spectators trying to escape from the more expensive seats further down and closer to the bull,

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You can't visit this part of France without a visit to the Camargue. This is the flat delta of the river Rhone; an area which is rich in wildlife and which has traditions of its own more related to Spain than to France.

If you idea of a great time is photographing birds, then this is the place for you, Everyone knows about the flamingos, but there are birds of all sorts, He went to the Parc Ornithologique and rapidly wasted a great deal of film. The Parc has several of different signposted walks; a short one past large cages, and longer walks right into the middle of the reserve.

The reserve is not only occupied by birds. There are coypu. Coypu used to be, and maybe still are, a pest in East Anglia, but here no-one seemed particularly worried. They fascinated the children. At least I assume they were fascinated to judge from the number of photographs of coypu which we ended up with.

Further south still and you arrive on the coast at the town of Stes-Maries-de-la-Mer which one guide book describes as "somewhat gaudy" and then proceeds to ignore it. In Stes-Maries-de-la-Mer you are about as far as you can get from traditional tourist France; the France of Paris and the Eiffel Tower. Here you are in the land of the Gypsies; you hear Flamenco played in the streets. According to tradition, Mary Magdalene, Mary Salome and their servant Sarah are buried here. Sarah has become the patron saint of Gypsies who arrive in great numbers at the end of May and again in October for great celebrations.

We had arrived about a week before the celebrations, but the town was already warming up. Lots of people with guitars, but few playing them; shamed perhaps by the evident skill of those few who were playing. Despite the differences, one thing was preserved from the traditional image of France; the quality of the food from the cafe at lunchtime.

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