Our last port on the river cruise was the ancient city of Arles, on the Rhône river but also practically on the Mediterranean coast in Provence. The Romans first saw the strategic value in a settlement here, controlling the river route into Gaul. The city lies near marshes and a nature preserve (the Camargue) that helps it retain a certain out-of-the-way, reserved character.
Arles is proud of its Roman heritage, and the ancient local language, Provençal, is more akin to Latin then French, although of course French predominates today. Arles retains a Roman coliseum, a theater, baths, an aqueduct: all the trappings of Imperial Rome. Its coliseum has an interesting history. In the Middle Ages, it was occupied by locals who made it into a small walled-town-within-the-town, full of little houses and shops. Eventually, the city government evicted everyone and re-established the arena. In fact, they still use the coliseum for bull fights, either of the Spanish (killing the bull) or French (irritating the bull) variety.
Arles is as charming as a painting, as in a van Gogh painting. He spent a few troubled months here (as everywhere) generating over 300 hundred paintings of landmarks still visible today. Oh, and yes, he cut off his ear here, too. Picasso and Gaugin also spent productive time here, but left bodily intact. Few if any of these great artists’ work remains here.
We also visited the remains of the historic fortress village of Les Baux de Provence. This was an independent town nestled in formidable, rocky hills north-east of Arles. This one-time principality held out for hundreds of years before finally being sacked and destoyed by the French under Cardinal Richelieu. To keep the fort from ever proving a problem again, the French army leveled it, although the town itself remains. Unfortunately, to add insult to injury, the town has become a tourist trap where only a few people actually live, the prices are high, and the tour groups run non-stop. C’est la vie! At least real history happened here, and the views are amazing. There was one hidden gem: we found a small 12th century church (intact) with some amazing stained-glass windows, donated by the Prince of Monaco (who once held title to the area) as a peace gesture. Somehow the modern glass fits perfectly well in the ancient setting:
Arles and Provence have much to offer. We didn’t get to visit any lavender fields, but we did get to taste some Provençal olive oil, which is hard to find outside of France. They export some (to the States) but mostly produce fresh for the French markets, as locals prefer the lighter, softer tastes (compared to Italian or Greek olive oil). Hard to blame them, but I guess that makes them, well, provincial and Provençal!