Twenty centuries later, the white facades and tall columns of the Maison Carree still shine in France’s Southern sun.
Roman Nimes continues to be proud of these perfectly preserved treasures of Antiquity: popular shows in the arenas, a vast exhibition on the Etruscans…. with the ambition of classifying the Maison Carree as a Unesco World Heritage site.
Valerie Espin, site manager at Edeis, the company in charge of the historial monuments of Nimes: “In Nimes, you can discover the best preserved monuments of the Roman world. The Arena of Nimes, the Roman amphitheatre, had 24,000 seats at the time, making it an important amphitheatre of its time.”
“The most recent novelty is the reopening of the Maison Carree after several months of work, and the presentation of a new museography, a new discovery of the Maison Carree, its history, its architecture, and the excavations that were carried out on the site. It is a new list which has been proposed since July 1st and which is very popular.”
“The Arena of Nimes was built for gladiatorial fights. The Maison Caree was a Roman temple, the temple of the imperial cult, and the Tour Magne, is the vestige of the Roman enclosure of Nimes.”
“The Maison Carree is a candidate for Unesco World Heritage status. The City of Nimes wishes to carry out this project for the year 2023.”
“If it is so well preserved, it is because it has been used over the last 2000 years. It has been used, it has been a church, it has been a convent, it has even been a stable at one time. It is the permanent human occupation of this monument that has kept it from being destroyed by man and that has left it so well preserved.”
© AFP
