Page 167 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Provence & The Côte d'Azur

V A UCL USE  165

5Orange excellent view of the theatre, the
city of Orange and the Rhône
Road map B2. * 30,000. £ @
n 5 cours Aristide Briand (04 90 34 70 plain from Colline St-Eutrope.
88). ( Thu. ∑ orange-tourisme.fr This is the site of the remains of
the castle of the princes of Orange,
This historical town contains who gave the Dutch royal family
two of the finest Roman its title, the House of Orange,
monuments in Europe. The through marriage. The family
Théâtre Antique d’Orange is also lent their name to states
known for its world-famous and cities around the world.
concerts (see pp166–7), while
the Arc de Triomphe celebrates P Arc de Triomphe
the honour of Tiberius and the Ave de l’Arc de Triomphe.
conquest of Rome after the The monument, a UNESCO World
Battle of Actium. Orange is also Heritage Site, has excellent
the centre for the Côtes du decorations devoted to war and Stone carving of a centaur in the Musée
Rhône vineyards and produce maritime themes. There is a mod- d’Art et d’Histoire d’Orange
such as olives, honey and ernistic quality, particularly visible
truffles. Around the 17th- in the trophies above the side three surveys dating from AD 77.
century Hôtel de Ville, streets arches. On the east face, Gallic Also in the museum are portraits
open on to peaceful, shady prisoners, naked and in chains, of members of the Royal House
squares with café terraces. broadcast to the world who was of Orange and paintings by the
in charge. Anchors and ropes British artist, Sir Frank Brangwyn
showed maritime superiority. (1867–1956). One room demons-
When Maurice of Nassau trates how printed fabrics were
fortified the town in 1622 made in 18th-century Orange.
by using Roman buildings as
quarries, the arch escaped this P L’Harmas de Fabre –
fate by being incorporated into Museum National d’Histoire
the defensive walls as a keep. Naturelle
Route d’Orange, Serignan du Comtat.
E Musée d’Art et d’Histoire Tel 04 90 70 15 61. Open Mon–Fri
d’Orange (Apr–Oct: also Sat & Sun pm). Closed
1 rue Madeleine Roch. Tel 04 90 51 Wed, 1 May, Christmas hols. & 8
17 60. Open daily. & ∑ theatre- At Sérignan-du-Cwomtat, 8 km
antique.com (5 miles) northeast of Orange is
The exhibits found in the L’Harmas, the estate of the ento-
Side-chapel altar in the Ancienne courtyard and ground floor reflect mologist and poet Jean-Henri
Cathédrale Notre-Dame, Orange the history of Orange. They include Fabre (1823–1915). His collection
more than 400 marble fragments of insects and fungi, and the
Roman Orange which, when assembled, proved surrounding botanical garden,
When the first Roman army to be plans of the area, based on attract visitors worldwide.
attempted to conquer Gaul, it
was defeated near Orange with
a loss of 80,000 men in 105 BC.
When the army came back
three years later and triumphed,
one of the first monuments
built to show supremacy was
the 19-m (63-ft) Arc de Triomphe
on the via Agrippa between
Arles and Lyons, today little used.
The Old Town
Old Orange is centred around
the 17th-century town hall and
Ancienne Cathédrale Notre-
Dame, with its crumbling
Romanesque portal, damaged in
the Wars of Religion (see pp50–51).
The theatre’s wall dominates the
place des Frères-Mounet. Louis
XIV described it as “the greatest
wall in my kingdom”. There is an Arc de Triomphe monument, representing Julius Caesar’s conquests