Vaison-la-Romaine (; oc, Vaison) is a town in the

Vaucluse Vaucluse (; oc, Vauclusa, label= Provençal or ) is a department in the southeastern French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. It had a population of 561,469 as of 2019.department in the

Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (; or , ; commonly shortened to PACA; en, Provence-Alps-French Riviera, italic=yes; also branded as Région Sud) is one of the eighteen administrative regions of France, the far southeastern on the mainland. Its pre ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics ( physical geography), human impact characteristics ( human geography), and the interaction of humanity an ...

in southeastern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. Vaison-la-Romaine is famous for its rich Roman ruins and mediaeval town and cathedral. It is also unusual in the way the antique, mediaeval and modern towns spanning 2,000 years of history lie close together. The old town is split into two parts: the "upper city" or ''Colline du Château'' on a hill on one side of the Ouvèze, and on the opposite bank, the "lower city" centred on the ''Colline de la Villasse''. With four theatres and numerous exhibitions and galleries, Vaison-la-Romaine is also renowned for its art scene. Many writers, painters and actors live in the area. Map of Vaison

History

The area was inhabited in the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

. At the end of the fourth century BC Vaison became the capital of a Celtic tribe, the

Vocontii The Vocontii (Gaulish: *''Uocontioi''; Greek: Οὐοκόντιοι, Οὐοκοντίων) were a Gallic people dwelling on the western foothills of the Alps during the Iron Age and the Roman period. The Vocontii settled in the region in the 3 ...

, centred on the

oppidum An ''oppidum'' (plural ''oppida'') is a large fortified Iron Age settlement or town. ''Oppida'' are primarily associated with the Celtic late La Tène culture, emerging during the 2nd and 1st centuries BC, spread across Europe, stretchi ...

in the upper city.

The Roman Period

After the Roman conquest (125-118 BC) in the wars against the Salyes, the Vocontii retained a certain degree of autonomy; they had two capitals, Luc-en-Diois, apparently the religious centre, and Vaison which was named ''Vasio Julia Vocontiorum''. Their authority continued in the gradual

Romanisation Romanization or romanisation, in linguistics, is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, and ...

of the Celtic ''

''. Early building was probably done by Vocontian aristocrats who moved down from the ''oppidum'' and established houses along the river, around which the city eventually accreted but based on a Roman orthogonal street plan with different alignment from the earlier houses. Construction of large public monuments began in the second half of the 1st century: theatre, bridge, aqueducts, thermal baths. Two aqueducts provided water to the city; the older one had its source on the Sainte-Croix hill to the north, while the longer one's source was at the Groseau spring on Mont Ventoux 10 km to the south-east. The

Pax Romana The Pax Romana (Latin for 'Roman peace') is a roughly 200-year-long timespan of Roman history which is identified as a period and as a golden age of increased as well as sustained Roman imperialism, relative peace and order, prosperous stabilit ...

led to the extension of the city which was at its finest in the second century when it covered up to 75 hectares. It became one of the richest of

Gallia Narbonensis Gallia Narbonensis (Latin for "Gaul of Narbonne", from its chief settlement) was a Roman province located in what is now Languedoc and Provence, in Southern France. It was also known as Provincia Nostra ("Our Province"), because it was th ...

; many houses with numerous mosaic pavements have been discovered and there is a fine theatre on a rocky hillslope, probably built during the reign of

Tiberius Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus (; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37) was the second Roman emperor. He reigned from AD 14 until 37, succeeding his stepfather, the first Roman emperor Augustus. Tiberius was born in Rome in 42 BC. His father ...

, whose statue was found in a prominent place on site. The beautiful statue, the '' Vaison Diadumenos'', (now in the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

) was also discovered in the theatre in the nineteenth century. The barbarian invasions were presaged by pillaging and burning in 276, from which Roman Vasio recovered. Vaison became a relatively important Christian religious centre (a bishopric existed there from the 4th century) where two councils met in 442 and 529.

The Post-Roman Period

The barbaric invasions of the 5th century by the

Burgundians The Burgundians ( la, Burgundes, Burgundiōnes, Burgundī; on, Burgundar; ang, Burgendas; grc-gre, Βούργουνδοι) were an early Germanic tribe or group of tribes. They appeared in the middle Rhine region, near the Roman Empire, and ...

ruined the city. The theatre's benches began to be reused as Christian tombstones. Vaison was taken by the

Ostrogoths The Ostrogoths ( la, Ostrogothi, Austrogothi) were a Roman-era Germanic people. In the 5th century, they followed the Visigoths in creating one of the two great Gothic kingdoms within the Roman Empire, based upon the large Gothic populations who ...

in 527 then by

Chlothar I Chlothar I, sometime called "the Old" ( French: le Vieux), (died December 561) also anglicised as Clotaire, was a king of the Franks of the Merovingian dynasty and one of the four sons of Clovis I. Chlothar's father, Clovis I, divided the kingd ...

King of the Franks The Franks, Germanic-speaking peoples that invaded the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century, were first led by individuals called dukes and reguli. The earliest group of Franks that rose to prominence was the Salian Merovingians, who c ...

, in 545 and became part of

Provence Provence (, , , , ; oc, Provença or ''Prouvènço'' , ) is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which extends from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the Italian border to the east; it is bo ...

. The disputes which broke out in the twelfth century between the

counts of Provence The land of Provence has a history quite separate from that of any of the larger nations of Europe. Its independent existence has its origins in the frontier nature of the dukedom in Merovingian Gaul. In this position, influenced and affected by ...

, who had refortified the ancient "upper town" and the bishops, each of whom were in possession of half the town, were injurious to its prosperity; they were ended by a treaty negotiated in 1251 by the future pope Clement IV, a native of Saint-Gilles-du-Gard. In disturbed times of the Middle Ages, the inhabitants migrated to higher ground on the left bank of Ouvèze, with the shelter of the ramparts and a strong castle. From the eighteenth century, most of the population moved back down to the plains by the river. A flood struck Vaison-la-Romaine on 22 September 1992, the worst since 1632.

Population

Main sights

Silver bust house in Vaison-la-Romaine, 2009-07-25 01

The Roman ruins lie in the valley on the banks of the river Ouvèze which is crossed by a Roman bridge from the 1st century AD. The Roman ruins are located in two main areas: La Villasse and Puymin. Several large and rich town houses have been excavated: * the house of the Dolphin (area 2700 m2) * the house of the Laurelled Apollo (area 2000 m2) * the house of the Arbour (area 3000 m2) * the house of the Peacock (area 1000 m2) The houses must have belonged to the Vocontii aristocracy who owned estates in the region. A large number of finds originating from Vaison-la-Romaine are now dispersed among 25 museums worldwide, mostly in Europe and North America. The mediaeval town is high on the rocky hill as attacks were frequent and the town retreated to a more defensible position. The

apse In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an '' exedra''. ...

of the Church of St. Quenin, dedicated to Saint Quinidius, seems to date from the eighth century, one of the oldest in France. The cathedral dates from the 11th century, but the apse and the apsidal chapels are from the Merovingian period. The town also has a famous open air market held on Tuesdays year round.

The house of the Dolphin

The Dolphin House owes its name to a white marble fountainhead portraying a cupid riding a dolphin. The structure of the house indicates it was built in stages over a period of about 250 years. About 30 BC it was a farmhouse of area 1,400 m2 built on a different alignment to the later street grid and with main entrance to the south. The main building consisted of four rooms arranged around a colonnaded courtyard (''

peristyle In ancient Greek and Roman architecture, a peristyle (; from Greek ) is a continuous porch formed by a row of columns surrounding the perimeter of a building or a courtyard. Tetrastoön ( grc, τετράστῳον or τετράστοον, lit=f ...

''). To the west lay several agricultural outbuildings and a small heated building, probably a thermal bath. 50 years later, water and sewage pipes were added leading to greatly improved living standards. Around 80 AD, the house was extended over the strip of land up to the new pedestrian street. A new main entrance was built to the north, the peristyle was extended eastwards and adorned with a pond and the upper floor was enlarged. The private section of the house consists of rooms arranged around the peristyle, including the upper floor accessed by the staircase next to the ''

tablinum In Roman architecture, a (or , from , board, picture) was a room generally situated on one side of the atrium and opposite to the entrance; it opened in the rear onto the peristyle, with either a large window or only an anteroom or curtain. The ...

''.

Twin towns

Martigny Martigny (; german: Martinach, ; la, Octodurum) is the capital city of the district of Martigny, canton of Valais, Switzerland. It lies at an elevation of , and its population is approximately 15000 inhabitants (''Martignerains'' or "Octoduriens ...

, Switzerland.

Gallery

Image:Château des Comtes de Toulouse.JPG, Castle of the counts of Toulouse Image:VaisonlaromaineRuins.jpg, Ruins of a Roman villa Image:vaisonlaromainecloister.jpg, Cloister Interior Image:Stone Houses, Vaison-la-Romaine, Provence, France.jpg, Narrow streets of the old town File:Vaison-la-Romaine 5.jpg, "Laurelled Apollo" house in Vaison-la-Romaine Image:Roman Bridge, Vaison-la-Romaine, France. Pic 01.jpg, Roman bridge in Vaison la Romaine, France Image:Vaison la Romaine-0974.jpg, Roman ruins in Vaison la Romaine, France

Notable residents

Gnaeus Pompeius Trogus Gnaeus Pompeius Trogus also anglicized as was a Gallo-Roman historian from the Celtic Vocontii tribe in Narbonese Gaul who lived during the reign of the emperor Augustus. He was nearly contemporary with Livy. Life Pompeius Trogus's grandfathe ...

, (1st century BC) was born in Vaison-la-Romaine, historian. * Maurice Burrus, Alsatian tobacco magnate, politician and philatelist * Alice Colonieu, French ceramicist, painter and sculptor * Michel Jeury, French science fiction writer *

Mimie Mathy Mimie Mathy (8 July 1957) is a French actress, comedian and singer who is best known for her starring role in the long-running ''Josephine, Guardian Angel'' television series. Mathy has achondroplasia, a form of dwarfism, and is tall. Life and ...

, French actress, comedian and singer *

Keira Knightley Keira Christina Righton (; née Knightley, born 26 March 1985) is an English actress. Known for her work in both independent films and blockbusters, particularly period dramas, she has received several accolades, including nominations for ...

, English actress, owns a house in the area * Henri Metzger (1912–2007), French archaeologist and Hellenist died here.

References

Sources

*Rivet, A. L. F. '1988. ''Gallia Narbonensis: Southern Gaul in Roman Times'', part II: ''"Civitates"'', (London: Batsford). A brief summary of the archaeology.

External links

* *
Vaison-la-Romaine official website

The medieval town of Vaison-la-Romaine
(in French and English)
Association pour la Protection de la Haute Ville
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vaisonlaromaine Archaeological sites in France Communes of Vaucluse Roman towns and cities in Provence Vocontii