Hey you thought you were in France……….!

Arles, less than an hour by coach from Marseilles is the launching point for the Uniworld Burgundy and Provence river cruise and what a fitting place to kick off such an amazing insight into the multi racial and ever changing history of Europe, one of invaders and takeovers, only ending at the termination of the 2^nd World War in 1945.

[Pictured – if only this Arles street could talk!]

The history of the relatively recent European “colonisation“ of Australia is put into true perspective when I realised that recent Arles was established by the Greeks as early as the 6th century BC under the name of Theline,  but it did not stop there, that being only the starting point for an eclectic cultural melange of history of the centuries, with Arles being by the Celtic Salluvii in 535 BC, who renamed it to Arelate.

How did I find all this out? 

Well, simple really and why choosing a really good, professional holiday and operator is important, because all these gems of wisdom came from the really excellent Uniworld guide who took passengers from the Uniworld River Royale around the ancient city of Arles – visit TravelMoleTV at:

http://www.travelmole.tv/watch_vdo.php?sid=1&id=14554 to see and listen to what what she had to say.  Also if your clients want to get an idea of what visiting a historic city such as Arles is like with Uniworld, show it to them!

In any case, moving back into history…….it was when the the Romans took town in 123 BC, that Arles began its journey into importance with the Romans expanding Arles and it becoming an important city, with a key element being the construction of a canal link to the Mediterranean being constructed in 104 BC, but Arles never became more important than Massalia, now known as Marseilles. In its dominant position right on the coast. ]pictured above: a rooftop view of the countryside around Arles.]

Loyalty to Julius Caeser proved a boon to Arles who backed Caeser against Pompey, providing military support, while Massalia backed Pompey, so when Caesar won that interlude in history, poor old Massalia was stripped of its possessions, which were transferred to Arelate as a reward…lucky old Arles!

Arles was formally established as a colony for veterans of the Roman legion, Legio VI Ferrata, which had its base there, with its full title as a colony of Rome being Colonia Iulia Paterna Arelatensium Sextanorum, translated to “the ancestral Julian colony of Arles of the soldiers of the Sixth.”

The Roman Arelate was not a small place, covering an area of about 99 acres [400,000 m²] and even today you can see many of the relics and buildings of this Roman period in its life, including an amphitheatre [pictured right].

Even then as it does even today, although it was closer to the sea than now, Arles has southernmost bridge on the Rhone, with Arles reaching the peak of its influence and power during the 4th and 5th centuries, when it was frequently used as headquarters for Roman Emperors during military campaigns.

It became a favourite city of Emperor Constantine I, who built baths there, which you can see large parts of today, with his son, Constantine II, was born in Arles there and Usurper Constantine III declaring himself emperor in the West , between 407 and 411 and making Arles his capital in 408.

Arles subsequently became a very important location for the spread of Roman Christianity and an the Christianisation of Gaul, which is a whole other story!

[Pictured: History is everywhere in Arles – a cafe snuggles under an ancient rampart]

Arles was badly affected by the invasion of Provence by the Muslim Saracens and the Franks, who took control of the region in the 8th century and in 855 Arles was made the capital of a Frankish Kingdom of Arles, which included Burgundy and part of Provence, but was frequently terrorised by Saracen and Viking raiders.

After many years of to-ing , fro-ing and possession Arles regained political and economic prominence in the 12th century, with the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa travelling there in 1178 for his coronation, with in the 12th century, Arles becoming a free city governed by an elected podestat, a chief magistrate, who appointed the consuls and other magistrates, retaining this status amazingly until the French Revolution of 1789.

Arles joined the countship of Provence in 1239 but suffered its prominence with history repeating itself, being eclipsed once more by Marseille and in 1378, the Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV ceded the remnants of the Kingdom of Arles to the Dauphin of France, later King Charles VI of France and the Kingdom of Arles ceased to exist even on paper.

Arles remained economically important for many years as a major port on the Rhône, but the arrival of the railway in the 19th century eventually killed off much of the river trade, leading to the town becoming a very pleasant and rather quite town, [pictured right: let sleeping dogs lie in Arles!] which became a very attractive location for painter Vincent van Gogh, who arrived there on 21 February 1888, fascinated by the Provençal landscapes, producing over 300 paintings and drawings during his time in Arles.

Many of his most famous paintings were completed there, including L’Arlésienne, The Night Cafe, the Yellow Room and Starry Night Over the Rhone [pictured below as van Gogh saw it and also below as The Mole saw it in 2008!  Has it really changed much?].

Paul Gauguin visited van Gogh in Arles, but van Gogh’s mental health deteriorated and he became alarmingly eccentric, culminating in the infamous ear-severing incident in December 1888, which took place in Arles, with concerned residents circulating a petition the following February demanding that van Gogh be confined and in May 1889 he took the hint and left Arles for the asylum at nearby Saint-Rémy-de-Provence.

There is simply no better way to visit and experience Arles and other amazing historic towns and villages in France’s Provence and Burgundy region than on a Uniworld river cruise and further information can be obtained form http://www.uniworldcruises.com.au/RiverCruise_2009/itinerary_template.php?s=0&code=bpac

An on location report by the Mole from Europe.