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was a prosperous, urbanised society. In the third century CE, this stability was shattered by crisis. The empire was torn apart by civil wars, the barbarians became more frightening and epidemics made the whole situation worse. As gladiatorial fighting was an urban phenomenon, it declined at the same
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In 1853, balloonist M. Louis
Deschamps was killed during his 120th flight from the Arena of Nîmes. Bad weather had already forced the mayor to call off a parachute performance, but the balloon took off as planned and got caught in the bad weather. Deschamps was thrown from the basket and the balloon
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wanted to get the amphitheatre back its ancient appearance, but all that was done at that time was to clear away the buildings from the first floor gallery. By the 18th century, there were still 150 houses inside the arena with hundreds of people living in them. The clearing of the monument began in
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authorised its vassals in Nîmes to build a new city wall, whose layout corresponded more or less to the boulevards of the town that we see today. At that time, the amphitheatre was still an important element in the town defence system. A real little neighbourhood grew up there, with its own churches
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From the fourth century, the city of Nîmes began to retract and strengthen its defences. The arcades of the amphitheatre were blocked up and the monument became an important part of the defence of Nîmes. A large number of people from the town took refuge inside the former amphitheatre that had now
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or animal fights. This new type of construction took the form of two theatres set face to face with an oval arena which allowed everyone, wherever they were sitting, to see the spectacles being acted out in the sand covering below, without danger of missing anything.
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become a fortified castle. It suffered several sieges, but the amphitheatre has proved its very effective defence. In 725, Arabs from Spain annihilated the
Visigoth kingdom by taking control of Nîmes. Thirty years later, they, in turn, were driven out by the
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marked the end of these events, prompting the transformation of the amphitheater into a fortress and subsequently a walled town. The 19th century saw the restoration of the arena, accompanied by the removal of houses that had been constructed inside it.
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1786 when the houses cluttering it were demolished. Only two walled arcades with their medieval windows have been preserved, opposite the Palace of
Justice, providing us with a reminder of that period. In the middle of the 19th century, the architect
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Roman amphitheatres first appeared in
Southern Italy in the second century BCE and were specifically designed for putting on spectacular combats between
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of St Peter and St Martin. Gradually, over the course of the 14th century, the amphitheatre lost its military value but remained a residential quarter.
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The music festival
Festival de Nîmes has taken place in the arena every summer since 1997. It celebrated 20 years with a major event in 2017.
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took place, the public has once again been able to watch festivities, sporting events, entertainments and bullfights at regular intervals.
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It was not until the 12th century that a new expansion was to occur. As a sign of this renewal, in 1194, the
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Ancient cities: the archaeology of urban life in the ancient Near East and Egypt, Greece and Rome
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included the arena in the route of its opening stage, a 13,7 km (8,51 mile)
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performed at the Roman amphitheatre three times: on August 8, 1986, during their
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completed the restoration of the monument. Since 1853, when the first
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During Roman times, the Arena of Nîmes functioned as an arena where
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Official web site of the Arena and other Roman monuments of Nîmes
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535:. The 2006 show was recorded for the group's live album project
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At its high point, in the first and second centuries, the
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Today, the Arena of Nîmes is the site of two annual
220:battled each other and wild animals. The advent of
544:David Gilmour Live in Nîmes - 20th/21st July 2016
641:Aerial view of Nîmes with the Arena in the centre
447:(1978/79) filmed there - S1/E8: The Poppy Chain.
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727:(2nd ed.). London: Routledge. p. 409.
569:performed in the arena at an event organised by
454:recorded some of the live video and album,
443:British action-adventure television series
418:came down about half a mile further along.
414:, stands at the entrance, called "Hero".
334:Learn how and when to remove this message
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798:"Historique | Festival de Nîmes"
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471:recorded the majority of their DVD,
272:adding citations to reliable sources
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197:, southern France. Built around 100
16:Roman amphitheatre in Nîmes, France
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596:performed in the arena during her
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883:Buildings and structures in Nîmes
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410:Christian Montcouquiol, known as
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434:filmed part of his first film,
386:Influenced by the ideas of the
259:needs additional citations for
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782:. Rammstein.de. Archived from
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31:Exterior of the Arena of Nîmes
1:
898:Monuments historiques of Gard
878:Roman amphitheatres in France
853:Photos of the Arenas of Nîmes
780:"2006 – 17. Nov – Völkerball"
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366:The Arena in the 19th century
888:Tourist attractions in Nîmes
583:The performance is available
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677:List of Roman amphitheatres
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222:early medieval Christianity
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600:on June 12 and 13, 2024.
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507:French electronic group
873:Roman sites in Provence
723:Gates, Charles (2011).
558:, which was won by the
838:The Roman amphitheatre
525:Black Celebration Tour
491:Français Pour Une Nuit
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598:Radical Optimism Tour
504:in 2009 and in 2011.
406:The statue of French
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617:Stairs and corridors
552:2017 Vuelta a España
511:recorded live album
488:recorded their DVD,
477:, on July 23, 2005.
359:time as the cities.
268:improve this article
201:, shortly after the
109:43.83500°N 4.36000°E
893:Bullrings in France
538:Recording the Angel
494:, on July 7, 2009.
445:Return of the Saint
105: /
57:Shown within France
21:
840:at Nimes Tourisme
831:2017-01-07 at the
757:The New York Times
706:"arenes-nimes.com"
565:In 2022 German DJ
533:Delta Machine Tour
517:on July 19, 2012.
450:British rock band
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191:Roman amphitheatre
164:Original Capacity:
129:Roman amphitheatre
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760:. 4 December 1853
734:978-0-203-83057-4
529:Touring the Angel
514:Access All Arenas
432:François Truffaut
380:Count of Toulouse
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806:. Retrieved
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762:. Retrieved
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571:Cercle Music
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457:On the Night
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356:Roman Empire
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266:Please help
261:verification
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152:Roman Empire
868:Roman Nîmes
847:Nimes Arena
574: [
482:heavy metal
440:, in 1957.
437:Les Mistons
388:Renaissance
232:during the
112: /
88:Coordinates
862:Categories
849:(archived)
808:2014-07-29
683:References
502:house show
474:Völkerball
430:filmmaker
422:Modern use
348:gladiators
294:newspapers
230:bullfights
218:gladiators
158:Site notes
97:43°50′06″N
629:The Arena
500:hosted a
486:Metallica
480:American
469:Rammstein
412:Nimeño II
401:bullfight
392:Francis I
324:July 2019
203:Colosseum
100:4°21′36″E
829:Archived
764:1 August
749:"France"
671:See also
665:Corridor
653:Corridor
594:Dua Lipa
428:New Wave
211:maeniana
169:Current:
66:Location
604:Gallery
588:YouTube
509:Justice
463:German
426:French
408:matador
390:, King
308:scholar
240:History
189:) is a
166:~20,000
148:Periods
140:Founded
135:History
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467:group
373:Franks
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183:French
171:13,800
78:France
75:
752:(PDF)
578:]
484:band
315:JSTOR
301:books
195:Nîmes
143:70 CE
82:Nîmes
766:2016
729:ISBN
550:The
287:news
207:Rome
177:The
125:Type
586:on
498:WWE
270:by
205:of
193:in
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691:^
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199:CE
185::
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312:·
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