Built at the beginning of the Roman Empire, 2000 years ago, the Maison Carrée of Nîmes stands a few hundred meters from the ancient arenas, in the heart of the city. PASCAL GUYOT/AFP
Built at the beginning of the Roman Empire, the ancient temple was partly listed for its exceptional state of conservation.
It is one of the best preserved ancient monuments of the Roman Empire. Located in Nîmes (Gard), the square house has been on the list of Unesco World Heritageas the 45 has just decidede session of the World Heritage Committee meeting in Saudi Arabia.
So the Maison Carrée joins its neighbors, Gard’s Bridge and the city of Carconne, but also the Great Wall of China and the sanctuary of Machu Picchu. Built during the reign of Emperor Augustus Two thousand years ago, the building stood a few hundred meters from the famous arenas, also two thousand years old, in the city center of French Rome. Measuring 26 meters long by 15 meters wide and 17 meters high, the monument, not really square, was in turn a temple, a dwelling, a town hall, a prefecture, a church and even… a stable!
Symbol of the Pax Romana
These different uses allowed it to remain upright. Furthermore, since the 17th centurye century, its successive users…
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