Arles, France, a World Heritage Site

Arles is a city on the Mediterranean coast in the Bouches-du-Rhône department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southern France. The probability of sunny days each year is much higher than in the north, which has attracted many artists from various European countries to work and live here, including the famous Dutch post-Impressionist painter Vincent van Gogh, who lived in Arles from 1888 to 1889 (Figures 13-14), during which time he created more than 300 paintings, which are collected by internationally renowned museums and private collections around the world. Since 1970, Arles has held an international photography festival every year, and the event was originally initiated by a photographer, a writer and a historian in Arles. Today, it receives annual sponsorship from a number of European companies, including the French National Railway Company. Wandering in the streets and alleys of the ancient city, you can feel the rich artistic atmosphere. But at the same time, you may feel like you have arrived in Italy. Around 800 BC, this place belonged to Liguria in present-day Italy. Starting in the 6th century BC, the Greeks established settlements here, and it later became an important trading port for the Phoenicians until it was occupied by the Romans in 123 BC. The Romans expanded Arles into a very important city in the province of Galliana Bernissus, the first Roman province west of the Alps, and built a canal connecting it to the Mediterranean in 104. During the civil wars of the late Roman Republic, Arles in Gaul supported Caesar, while present-day Marseille supported Pompey. After Caesar's victory, he stripped Marseille of its property and moved it to Arles as a reward. In September 46 BC, the settlement of retired veterans of the Roman Sixth Heavy Armored Legion "Ferrata" was officially established according to Roman law. The full name of the settlement is: "The Colony of Caesar, the founder of the Sixth Legion of Arles, Colonia Julia Paterna". Then the arena, church, theater, etc. were built one after another. Arles reached its peak of influence in the 4th and 5th centuries, when Roman emperors often used Arles as their headquarters during their military campaigns in Europe. In 395 AD, Arles became the seat of the provincial government of Gallia, which ruled the western part of the Western Roman Empire, namely Gaul, present-day Spain and the Armorica region of Brittany in northwestern France, until it was conquered by the Visigoths in 471, when the city's population was estimated to be between 75,000 and 100,000. It also became a favorite city of the Roman Emperor Constantine I, who built baths here, most of which still stand today. His son Constantine II was born in Arles in February around 316-340 AD. In 407 AD, Constantine III was supported by the local legions in the war in Britain and declared himself emperor of the Western Roman Empire. He then withdrew all mobile troops from Britain and deployed them in Arles, making Arles the capital in 408. During this period, they gained the upper hand in battles with the army of the Western Roman Emperor Honorius, who was forced to recognize Constantine III as co-emperor in 409. In the late Roman Empire, Arles became famous as a cultural and religious center, an important place for Roman Christianity and an important foundation for the Christianization of Gaul. The most important factor that attracts tourists to Arles today is the above-mentioned world cultural heritage sites from the ancient Roman period. As the former provincial capital of the Roman Empire and the capital of the Western Roman Empire, it still preserves a large number of historical buildings for tourists from all over the world to visit. #OverseasTravel #France #EuropeTravel #AncientCity #VanGogh #Art #WorldHeritage #WorldHeritageCulturalRelics #Colosseum #LearnAncientArchitectureArtThroughPlay #Obelisk #france #arles #unesco #unescoworldheritage