Colonnes dites de Saint-Lucien
MonumentHidden Treasure
Colonnes dites de Saint-Lucien, located in Arles (Bouches-du-Rhône), is a historic monument. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- autre
- Location
- Arles, Bouches-du-Rhône, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 43.6774, 4.6271
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00081127
The majestic remains of ancient Arles, these 2nd-century Roman columns raise their marble shafts against the Provencal sky, silent witnesses to a forum or temple that has now disappeared.
History
In the heart of Arles, a city that the Romans elevated to the rank of "Little Rome of the Gauls", the so-called Saint-Lucian columns are one of the most evocative remains of Provencal Antiquity. Emerging from the medieval urban fabric with their nobility intact, these stone shafts tell the story of the splendour of a city that was the capital of the prefecture of Gaul in the 4th century. What makes these columns so special is precisely their location: unlike the amphitheatre or the ancient theatre in Arles, which are spectacular monuments that have been extensively restored, the columns of Saint-Lucien offer a raw encounter with Antiquity. There's no excessive tourist staging, just the stone itself, with its ochre and grey patinas, age-old joints and grooves that the Mistral has gently eroded over the centuries. The visit is a contemplative experience. Walkers come face to face with a fragment of high-ranking Roman architecture - the supposed Corinthian order of these columns evokes the great temples of the Antonine period - and can let their imagination repopulate the vanished forum or sanctuary. The play of light at the end of the day, typical of the Arles light so celebrated by Van Gogh, transforms the columns into almost living sculptures. The immediate surroundings still bear the memory of the place: under successive layers of medieval and modern construction, the district has preserved the traces of Roman town planning. The columns of Saint-Lucien are part of an exceptional heritage site, with the city of Arles listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its ancient and Romanesque monuments.
Architecture
The columns at Saint-Lucien belong to the Roman architectural tradition of the Narbonne region in the 2nd century, a period marked by the quality of execution and ornamental richness inherited from Greek classicism. The shafts, probably made of local shell limestone or Carrara marble, as was often the case in prestigious buildings in Arles, feature the regular fluting characteristic of the Corinthian or composite order, the two most popular orders for temples and honorary porticoes in Imperial Rome. The size of the columns - the shafts are probably between 6 and 9 metres high, which is typical of medium-sized temple columns in the Narbonne region - indicates a building of high standing. The capitals, whose surviving or documented fragments reveal meticulously carved acanthus and scrolls, bear witness to the skills of the stonemasons who worked in Arles, a city where lapidary workshops achieved a level of excellence that was recognised throughout the Western Roman world. The building to which these columns belonged probably included a stylobate raised on a masonry podium, in keeping with the tradition of Roman temples in Gaul - such as the Maison Carrée in Nîmes or the Temple of Augustus and Livia in Vienne. The original architectural ensemble was to form a hexastyle or tetrastyle façade (with six or four columns on the façade), forming a dominant monument in the forum or in a monumental sector of the ancient city.
Related Figures
Jules César — fondateur de la colonie romaine d'Arles (Arelate) en 46 av. J.-C., initiateur du premier programme monumental de la citéHadrien (règne 117-138) — empereur sous lequel l'architecture monumentale de Narbonnaise connut un renouveau remarquable, période probable de construction de l'édificeAntonin le Pieux (règne 138-161) — son règne correspond à l'apogée de la prospérité arlésienne et à l'intensification des chantiers publicsProsper Mérimée — inspecteur général des Monuments historiques, figure clé du classement de 1840, promoteur infatigable du patrimoine antique provençalSaint Lucien — martyr chrétien dont le souvenir a donné son nom populaire aux colonnes, témoignant de la christianisation des lieux sacrés antiques
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Colonnes dites de Saint-Lucien located?
Colonnes dites de Saint-Lucien is located in Arles, Bouches-du-Rhône department, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, France.
Is Colonnes dites de Saint-Lucien open to visitors?
Colonnes dites de Saint-Lucien is currently closed to visitors.