Orange - France

Orange is a city in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France.  The is city incredibly rich in history, from its Celtic fortifications to its Roman monuments. Two of the most remarkable monuments are the Roman amphitheatre and the Triumphal Arch, both listed as World Heritage Sites by UNESCO. 

The card of the theatre was sent by Nancy, who also sent me one of the Saint.Emilion cards in the previous post. Óscar sent the arch card.

 

Built in the beginning of the Christian era, the ancient theatre presents all the components of the Latin Theatre according to Vitruvius: the cavea (semicircular tiers), the lateral accesses and the surprisingly preserved stage wall flanked by parascenia. Columns and numerous statues in niches originally decorated the stage. Only a few vestiges remain of this original decoration, including the statue of Augustus displaced to the large central niche. Closed by Imperial decree in 391, the theatre was abandoned and, later, ransacked and looted by Barbarians. It was not until the 19th century that the ancient theatre was reborn thanks to the restoration work begun in 1825.

Edittions Cellard

Built between 10 and 25 AD, the Roman Triumphal arch of Orange is one of the most beautiful and interesting provincial triumphal arches of the Augustan Age that has come down to us, thanks to its low reliefs commemorating the establishment of the Pax Romana. On its north and south sides, Celtic weapons from the period of independence appear in fan shape on a wall; on its east and west sides, the Celts are represented in chains. In addition to this decoration, there are naval remains where prows, oars, anchors and aplustre, recall the control over the maritime world that the victory of Actium gave to Rome. Finally, on the upper attic, Roman and Celtic cavalrymen and infantrymen clash. Transformed into a fort in the 13th century, partially repaired in the 18th century, then restored in the 19th century, the Triumphal Arch of Orange remains one of the most remarkable monuments of Roman Gaul. - in: https://whc.unesco.org