Thinking About The Roman Empire? Meet France’s New UNESCO Temple, Maison Carrée In Nîmes

20.09.2023 - 16:51 / forbes.com

How often do you think about the Roman Empire? If you are one of the many people who reportedly thinks about it all the time—the aqueducts, the colosseums, the gladiators, the togas—then la Maison Carrée (the Square House) in the center of Nîmes should be placed firmly on your next travel itinerary. It was just awarded a place on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

This temple, whose name translates to the Square House, has seen a lot since it was built at the beginning of the 1st century AD. Home to Roman worshippers in the colony of Nemausus (now Nîmes, one of France's more southern cultural hotspots), it was built to commemorate the prematurely deceased heirs of Augustus and to show off Rome's power in one of its colonial outposts.

Nîmes contains lots of Roman remains, many of which are in excellent condition, such as the beautifully restored arena, a mind-blowing venue that still hosts large-scale outdoor concerts of touring artists—while it transports you back to a time when people were fighting for their lives under gladiatorial combat.

The city itself previously applied to be added to the list of protected UNESCO sites because of its large number of Roman buildings, but it was rejected because of these structures’ proximity to modern buildings. The city since decided to solely focus on the Maison Carrée because it was recently renovated and reopened to the public.

The French government's press release stated that the voting at the World Heritage Committee's 45th session in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia was unanimous, owing to the fact that it is "one of the best and most preserved temples dedicated to Imperial worship."

At the same time, other sites around the world were added to the list—the volcanoes and forests of Mount Pelée and the Pitons of Northern Martinique. The eruption of this volcano, starting in 1902, helped further the science of volcanology, and the area is home to several endangered species, such as the Martinique Volcano Frog.

UNESCO sites can be cultural and natural, and France now has 51 UNESCO-listed sites. On the cultural side, the list in France includes the Cordouan Lighthouse in the Gironde estuary, inhabited until 2019 despite being fully automated. The nearby city of Arles, which itself has Roman remains and is where Van Gogh painted 187 paintings and cut off his ear, is UNESCO-listed, as is the spectacular Pont du Gard aqueduct—both of which joined the list 40 year ago.

Naturally speaking, the UNESCO list includes the Chaîne des Puys - Limagne fault tectonic arena and the Pyrénées - Mont Perdu. France still has many sites it wishes to see on the list, something called the Tentative List—this includes the Sites mégalithiques de Carnac and the Cathédrale de Saint-Denis.

UNESCO