The Square House has finally reopened following work to clear its volumes. Finished the cinema which sat inside time, place with the pure pedagogy and especially with the immensity of the ignored place, mixes Nîmes.
This is something that Nîmes and its inhabitants have been feverishly awaiting for ages. Lark mirror or reflections of universal value, theinscription in 2023 of the roman temple the best preserved World Heritage of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) will bring, if it is validated next year, its share of surprises to the ancient building. Inclusion on the World Heritage List is a designation given to places or properties, located throughout the world, of outstanding universal value, with the aim of transmitting these legacies to future generations.
If the majestic building is still standing, 2000 years after its construction, in the heart of a city which today has more than 150,000 inhabitants, there is a good reason. Several even. The natives have always taken over the place. Once the Roman Empire fell into disuse, the people of Nîmes preserved the ancient and venerable temple in their own way. Not always the best for its preservation, but we note that it was the best for its durability because it still remains today the most beautiful copy of the period.
The issues that arise with this reopening are numerous. First of all the City and Edeis, the public service delegate who manages the three ancient monuments of Nîmes, had to think, rethink the space for enhancing the site. Unesco asks that the temple find its past volumes, the City runs. After being closed to the public to carry out this work, it is time to talk about the sequence of events.
Despite its numerous and fruitless attempts to classify Nîmes with Unesco, the City has decided to follow the recommendations ofICOMOS (council of monuments) and to propose the only building in Nîmes which testifies to values negotiated and shared between Rome and Nîmes through the Maison Carrée, this dynastic temple dedicated to the heirs of Augustus.
Listed as a historic monument since 1840, the Maison Carrée is a pseudo-peripteral hexastyle Roman temple in the Corinthian style, 31.81 meters long, 15 wide and 17 meters high. Built during the lifetime of Augustus between 10 BC, the temple is made up of thirty columns nine meters high, twenty of which are engaged and enclose the cella (the inner room), preceded by a pronaos (the space designating the vestibule or entrance) which is accessed by a staircase of 17 steps.
The Temple of Nîmes was built with the participation of the local populations who wanted to mark their support for the new regime and their attachment to Auguste and his family. ” To Caius Caesar consul and Lucius Caesar consul designate, son of Augustus, princes of youth“…The temple was dedicated to the glory of the two grandsons, adopted sons and heirs presumptive of Augustus: the consuls and military leaders Lucius Caesar and Caius Julius Caesar, the sons of Agrippa, who died prematurely.
Here, the temple is also to be compared with a larger whole, the source of the Fountain which constitutes the first place of residence of the Arecomic Volques, but also a sacred space dedicated to the Roman emperor like the Augusteum, today disappeared today.
A perfect example of imperial architecture in Narbonne Gaul, the Maison Carrée in Nîmes is, along with the Pantheon in Rome, the only religious building from antiquity that has come down to us practically intact with its exterior decoration. But his past was troubled by many changes of assignment. Special residence in the Middle Ages, property of the Augustinian monks, house of the Consuls, prefecture, museum, archaeological museum, cinema… It was even almost the tomb of a certain local nobleman!
For the elected Mary Bourgade, ” We wanted to keep the traces of the past from the 17th century and the presence of the Augustinians. This work was done in collaboration with the Ministry of Cultural Affairs and the DRAC. I’m very attached to this aspect of sharing and transmission, that’s what we want with our delegate. »
Inside the restored building, seven large explanatory panels in three languages (French, English and Spanish) are attached to the walls. Colonia Augusta Nemausus, the imperial cult, the Maison Carrée a masterpiece of Roman architecture, an exceptional monument, cross-examination of the Maison Carrée, rediscovering and restoring the Maison Carrée, the Maison Carrée over the centuries.
All this brings a nice note of pedagogy to the visit. Indeed, the volumes of the building are found, the sacred spirit is not yet quite perceptible but everything should be refined over time. A lighted marquee, touch screens and backlit tables allow a perfect understanding of the site. The atmosphere of the place is soft and luminous, pleasant to feel. Only the echo of noisy visitors will be unpleasant.
Let’s bet that the visits will take place in an almost religious silence… Yes, back to the sources of the building, we tell you! La Maison Carrée is open tonight at 7:30 p.m. then tomorrow and Sunday for free from 9:30 a.m. to 8:15 p.m.
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