Day 9: A Roman Orange

Another day another UNESCO world heritage site. This time it’s in Orange. No not the fruit, the town.

Once it was the principality of Orange, ruled by the Orange-Nasseu family that gave us William II of England and the family that still rule the Netherlands today.

Centuries before that though it was a Roman colony. In the reign of Augustus a huge theatre was built large enough for the entire population of the town to see a performance at once.

Arriving at the theatre I was greeted with a sheer brick facade over 100m long. The real gem though lay inside.

Roman theatres were built with a large stone backdrop decorated with marble columns and statues. Most of these have been lost over the centuries but the theatre at Orange has been remarkably well preserved despite being burned by invaders and used as a village in medieval times.

Walking into the theatre was breathtaking. The sun shone on the 37m high backdrop, making the white marble statue of Augustus in the centre gleam.

Walking along the rows of seats gave a sense of just how big this place was and just how good it would have been to have experienced a Roman performance in its heyday.

Sitting on one of the rows of seats I appreciated just how good the Romans were at building. What do we build today that we can say will be here 2000 years later?

Back in Avignon I took an afternoon stroll around the city walls and through the main square one last time. Avignon and the surrounding area has been absolutely amazing. One day I will come back.

For now though my Avignon adventure is over. Tomorrow, I head to the coast. To Marseilles.