Foto's

Is it Roma ? No, it’s France…

The South of France is full of amazing artefacts and buildings from the past history of Europe. Vienne, 30km south of Lyon for instance was a Gaul city in the IIIrd century Before Christ. She even became the capital of one of the peoples of the Gaul population which were located in most of the today’s French Republic.

But, it’s under the Roman Empire that the City grew richer and bigger. This temple for instance was built in 30 or 20 BC in the frame of the wider block around the “Forum” of Vienne where the famous “Jazz Festival” takes place each summer nowadays. This temple is called “the temple of August and Livie” after the Roman emperor and his 2nd wife.

I like this historical place very much. This 2000 year old building is a proud one and offers a great evidence of the rich Europe history. Today, his original aspect was restored quite well and it’s quite hard to notice that the temple was dedicated to different purpose through the past : a Christian church in the Middle Ages, a Library at the beginning of the 19th century.

Fortunately, the architecture disaster of the French Revolution during which many historic buildings were destroyed gave a strong start to the French awareness that historical and cultural legacies needed to be preserved and protected. That’s probably why we still contemplate this wonderful building today in the middle of the city.

As a little wink to the Roman legacy, let’s mention the city of Vienne is also called the little Roma as a reference to its topography. Indeed, one can also notice that Vienne was funded among seven hills like the prestigious city of Roma…