It is one of the most emblematic and most visited ancient monuments in the Occitanie region and for good reason. Despite their nearly 2,000 years, the arenas of Nîmes have managed to cross the ages and still stand proudly in the middle of the city, delivering a fascinating testimony to the Roman past of the region.
The ellipse-shaped building, stretching some 130 meters in length, is one of the best-preserved ancient amphitheaters in the world. A particularity that is all the more remarkable in that it has known several lives. Its construction began around 100 AD, only a few decades after that of the Colosseum in Rome.
⋙ Journey to the heart of Nîmes la Romaine
The amphitheater was intended to offer entertainment shows to the population of Nemausus, former name of Nîmes. It could thus accommodate some 24,000 spectators in its thirty rows spread over two floors. Among the most popular shows were the legendary gladiator fights.
From the 5th century, however, the building had very different functions. A time changed into a fortress, it became during the Middle Ages the seat of a real village which had a few hundred houses, workshops, shops and even two churches. This continuous occupation allowed the amphitheater to escape demolition.
However, it was not until the 19th century that the construction regained some of its former glory. It was cleared of the houses that parasitized it and a vast restoration campaign was carried out. Objective: to be able to change the amphitheater once again into an enclosure for entertainment and shows.
From Roman amphitheater to contemporary arena
This is how the contemporary arenas, classified as a historic monument in 1840, came into being. The first shows took place there in the 1860s. Farewell to gladiator fights, make way for bullfights. As evidenced by this illustration published in the newspaper The Illustrated World le 23 mai 1863.
If the spectators cannot contemplate the race from the stands, as in the past, they are visibly there. And the events give the opportunity to talk again about the heritage of Nîmes and its famous arenas in the newspapers. On November 24, 1865, it was the turn of Arts Monitor to devote part of a report to it:
Few monuments made such a strong impression on us as the Arena. Seen from a certain side, they seem barely damaged, or rather, one seems to see everywhere the imprint of their history. Their blackish stones still bear the stain of the fire lit by Charles Martel to drive out the Saracens who had taken refuge there. An intelligent and discreet restoration is currently consolidating the Arena of Nîmes, without destroying any of their majestic character.
At that time, bullfights, a tradition from Spain, were booming. And the shows multiplied across France, including, over the following decades. Not without arousing criticism about the treatment reserved for animals during these events.
In 1884, the newspapers thus reported “bloody scenes” unfolded in the arenas. Echoes which gave rise to the first debates in France on bullfighting as related The small newspaper June 18:
These scenes motivated a decision by the Minister of the Interior prohibiting bullfights. Following this decision, a major meeting was called in Nîmes and was held on Sunday. The following resolution was adopted: “The meeting energetically protests against the fanciful and misleading articles published by the Parisian press on bullfights. »
In the name of the population of Nîmes, deeply moved by the news of a circular prohibiting bullfights, it expresses the wish that the municipalities know, if necessary, to use all their influence with the government to prevent it from abolishing these shows that are in the tastes and mores of the entire population of the South of France.
A year later, the public still comes in large numbers to attend these races. But some scenes continue to shock. The fate of the bulls is then not the only one to arouse criticism. This is also the case of bullfighters’ horses, collateral victims of confrontations. On August 12, 1885, the newspaper The Cry of the People Explain :
A great bullfight took place yesterday in the arenas of Nîmes. Over 30,000 people attended. From the morning, the trains coming from Paris, Lyons and Marseilles had brought many travelers. The arenas were decked out in Spanish and French colors […]
Six young Andalusian bulls were killed one after another; from the first pass, Frascuelo was injured in the thigh with a horn blow […] Seven horses were disemboweled, a notable portion of the population strongly expressed the disgust inspired by these bloody spectacles; at times, boos and whistles drowned out the sound of applause. We seem surprised, in Nîmes, that after having refused, last year, to authorize these races, the authority has yielded this time…
About ten days later, on August 22, The Illustrated World publishes an illustration of this same event. We can see that the spectators are no longer content to gather at the edges of the track. The work carried out in the arenas has allowed the public to once again invest the stands, as well as the heights of the amphitheater.
Despite lingering criticism, bullfighting remains one of the defining arena spectacles of the early 20th century. The building definitely regains its original function as a place of entertainment, bringing together crowds, including political figures. In October 1924, the building was visited by Gaston Doumergue, a native of Gard and newly elected President of the Republic, who appeared on the front page of the weekly the Small Diary:
In the arenas of Nîmes – The first official visit of the President of the Republic was to his native country. An enthusiastic welcome everywhere greeted Mr. Doumergue and he took pleasure in rediscovering the shows loved by his youth, among others the moving exercises of the “guardians” of La Camargue, leaping, trident in hand, on their flexible horses. and lively.
A window into the city’s ancient past
The arenas, once again a place of entertainment, nevertheless remain a crucial testimony to antiquity. In addition to the restoration work, the building is thus the subject of several excavation campaigns which reveal crucial discoveries on its architecture, the way in which the shows took place and the life of the inhabitants of Nemausus. Knowledge that complements the testimony delivered by the other preserved monuments of the city as specified The Little Illustrated Journal July 19, 1925:
There is no region of France where the vestiges of Gallo-Roman antiquity are more numerous, more beautiful and so marvelously preserved, than in this former country of Volscoe Arecomicidont Nemausus was the capital. […] The finest of the monuments erected by the Romans at Nîmes is the temple which is believed to have been consecrated to the memory of the adopted sons of Augustus, and which is called the Square House. […]
Nîmes has yet another marvel of ancient art: its Arènes. Of all the Roman amphitheatres that remain in France, this one is the best preserved. Although it does not have the formidable dimensions of the Colosseum in Rome, it nevertheless gives a magnificent idea of what the city of Nîmes was like at the time when circus games, gladiator fights and horse fights animals drew crowds there. […] The fact remains that the amphitheater of Nîmes dates from a time when the art of architecture had, in these sorts of buildings, reached the highest degree of perfection.
The arenas of Nîmes also open a more global window on the Gallo-Roman world, as well as the practices and traditions of the time. An easily accessible window as the building has remained well preserved and allows you to imagine the scenes that took place there two thousand years ago. As the title suggests school and life October 9, 1948:
Nîmes is a city in the South where there are still beautiful buildings made by the Gauls after the Roman conquest. The arenas. We are far from the Gallic hut before the conquest. Looks quite like a construction these days. However, it dates from the 2nd century (200 years after Vercingetorix), so it is 1800 years old. Solidity of work. It is masonry with mortar; what the Gauls before did not know how to do.
In the arenas of Nîmes people came to see fights (as we are going to see boxing or football matches today). On the track sometimes fought gladiators (of sword), armed and battleships. They sometimes fought to the death. Other times they were made to fight against ferocious beasts (compare today fights with bulls). The Gauls (we now call them the Gallo-Romansbecause they look more and more like the Romans) still like chariot races in circuses larger than arenas.
Today, the monument offers a new tour that allows you to walk through its galleries while discovering the secrets of its construction and the shows that took place there, including the famous gladiator fights. It also remains a place of major events that attract up to 200,000 spectators a year. The bullring regularly hosts bullfights, concerts, sporting events, TV events as well as a large historical re-enactment.
In 2022, it is Emperor Hadrian that the reconstruction will stage, by offering a dive, all in scenery and costumes, into the battles that the Roman legions fought against the Picts, peoples who once lived in the north of England. From May 4 to 8, the city will also be the scene of many festivities to celebrate the past of “Nîmes la Romaine”.
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