Home » today » Business » The Roman Days of Autun bring the history and heritage of the city back to life throughout the weekend [en images]

The Roman Days of Autun bring the history and heritage of the city back to life throughout the weekend [en images]

Bruno Poirrier, alias centurion Caïus, gives no smile to the photographers who bombard him. Not a grin, but the hard eye of authority. The leader of the thirty-five soldiers of Legion VIII has a rank to hold. At the door of the tent-hospital, he casts his gaze on the encampment which surrounds him and the visitors who flock there.

The sixteenth edition of Roman Days is done with him. In a few moments, his troop in full Imperial army uniform will be in full marching order. In battle order, with its equipment. The city expects 6,000 people over the two days of the weekend, the work will pay off.

Another facet of heritage: alive and illustrated

Mainly rehearsal work. The outfits in which everyone participates for the making, either for the belts or for the shields, are ready. “We meet for training, maneuvers, with the signs, the assistants, plus the legate”, explains Bruno Poirrier. “The legate, René Qubayn, is a guide. It was he who founded the Human-Hist association, twenty-five years ago, and is a pioneer of reconstruction in Europe.”

premium A day in Autun, in Saône-et-Loire, a historic and tourist site close to the Nièvre

If, in the association, there are history teachers and archaeologists, “we encourage all volunteers to read reference books, such as Tacitus or Cato. The minimum is to have read The Gallic Wars by Julius Caesar You have to know what you’re talking about and be a bit passionate about history,” insists the centurion. The objective of all this being to transmit this knowledge to the public. “This is another facet of heritage, it is illustrated living history”.

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