The
Arena at Nimes, France, dates back 2000 years to when the town was a part of the Roman Empire. The road from Rome to Spain (known as Hispania back in those days) goes through the city. The amphitheater was built in the late first century or early second century. It is one of the best-preserved arenas and is still in use today. After the Roman period, it became a fortification, a small town that lived inside so people would be safe (relatively speaking) from the barbarian invasions and other unsavory people. The living conditions became unsavory. The city took out all the buildings during the late 1700s, turning it back into an entertainment venue. Bullfighting was held there for a long time. Nowadays it is a tourist attraction, a concert venue, and a place for reenactors to gather and relive the glory that was Rome.
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| Arena at Nimes |
Walking up to the arena from the train station, we saw a statue of
Nimeno II, a famous bullfighter from the 1990s. Since he is a relatively recent bullfighter, his sculpted jacket is decorated with all sorts of fanciful things that probably weren't on his actual jacket.
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| Nimeno II |
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| Dinosaurs and other random stuff |
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| Back to the arena |
We paid the entrance fee and used the audio guide during our wanderings around inside. I was apprehensive at first because the audio was a modern radio journalist interviewing a second-century gladiator. That sounded a bit cheesy and improbable to me but the execution was excellent. It was a little unlikely that the gladiator knew English, was an expert in every style of fighting, knew the history and construction of the arena, and had future knowledge of how the arena was used. It actually was easier to follow than having a half-dozen different voices explaining different things. The narration was engaging to listen to, with some nice humor sprinkled in. Our tour started near the main floor of the arena.
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| Inside the arena |
The amphitheater is still used as a concert venue and they were setting up for a performance that evening (some group called
Gojira). It took away from the ancient vibe of the interior.
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| Adding a stage |
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| The cheap seats for the concert |
The original stairs still work very well, providing lots of access to the seats. In addition to the audio guide, many signs gave details about what the arena was like back in its heyday.
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| A short staircase |
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| Covered seats! |
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| View from the cheap seats of other cheap seats |
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| View of the stage |
The top of the arena provides some nice views of the town.
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| Seeing the future |
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| A nearby church |
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| A cool clock and facade |
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| View from the very top |
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| The stage |
Inside one of the hallways that encircles the seating, the various types of gladiators were described, along with their weapons and fighting styles. These were a nice supplement to the description on the audio guide.
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| Fighters gonna fight |
The audio guide explained that gladiatorial combats were professional with a type of referee who would make a judgment at the end of the conflict. The loser, if he performed poorly or was considered cowardly, would be given a sign to kill him. This sign was not a "thumbs down" like it's shown in movies and television. Rather, the referee would hold his fist out sideways with the thumb out, symbolizing an unsheathed weapon. If the loser did a good job, the ref would make a fist with the thumb in to show a sheathed weapon. Referees were reluctant to kill gladiators because they had to pay the owners or family for the loss. Many gladiators were big stars, had families, and did their best like any other professional athlete. After the problems with Spartacus, slaves generally weren't trained as fighters (an expensive process), they would be used as victims for the earlier parts of the arena shows.
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| Memorials to the superstars of the ancient world |
Another display shows the various types of entertainment venues built by the Romans. Interestingly, the amphitheater was like two theaters built together.
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| Theater in the round |
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| Half-capacity by design? |
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| The venue for chariot racing |
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| The venue for Olypmic-style sports shows |
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| A flooded stadium for water shows (mostly recreated naval battles) |
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| Butt-shot of a gladiator |
The arena is well-worth visiting, especially with the audio guide.
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