We started out in the ancient Greek port of Massalia (modern Marseille), traditionally settled by Ionian Greeks from Phocaea in western Asia Minor around 600 B.C. One can still see traces of the archaic Greek settlement around the Vieux Port (late seventh century/early sixth century B.C.) and visit the excellent Musée d'Histoire de Marseille with archaeological finds from prehistoric through Late Roman times and its reconstructed Hellenistic and Roman shipwrecks. A nice place to stroll adjacent to the museum is the parklike Jardin des Vestiges, lined with the remains of Hellenistic city walls and a Roman road leading to the city's ancient entrance. The settlement at Massalia gave the Greeks an important foothold near the mouth of the Rhône River whence they established trade relations with inland Gaul.
From Marseilles, traveling by rental car, we went west, first to Avignon and then to Arles where we based ourselves for a week each. Both of these cities are within 45 minutes to an hour's drive of several other cities, towns, and sites that were important in Roman and Medieval times including Orange, Nîmes, Vaison-la-Romaine, St.-Rémy-Glanum, and Carpentras, as well as the Pont du Gard and the Aqueducts of Barbegal. Each of these sites has its own, very different charms, allowing us to enjoy the unique atmosphere of each as part of the overall experience. The array of excavated, preserved, and restored architectural remains varies considerably from town to town, ranging from such monumental and well-known Roman building types as aqueducts, amphitheaters, theaters, and temples, to private houses, city gates, cemeteries, and triumphal arches. And the remains of ancient life found on these sites, including everything from monumental imperial sculpture to humble household pottery, are housed in well-appointed archaeological museums, many on or close to the sites whose remnants they hold.
Continue tour of Provence...
