The Romans in Gaul

Departing 09-Oct-2010 to 30-Oct-2010

Romans were settled in southern France (Transalpine Gaul or Gaul across the Alps) from the late second century B.C., but it was Julius Caesar in the mid first century B.C who expanded Roman control through the whole country. Caesar established new settlements, a practice continued by his successor Augustus, under whom Lyon (Lugdunum) became the religious centre of the three new provinces into which Caesar's conquered area had been divided. The first part of this tour, which starts in Lyon, explores the major Roman sites south of that city, especially those in the original province (Provence), where triumphal arches, amphitheatres, theatres, aqueducts and temples abound. This is classical pagan Roman society, but Christian buildings will not, cannot be ignored; as well as all the Roman sites we will also visit Avignon, where French-supported Popes resided in the fourteenth century.

The second part of the tour is northern Italy (Cisalpine Gaul, or Gaul on this side of the Alps), which had been Roman for even longer, since the third century B.C. It ceased to be a province in 42 B.C, becoming part of Italy. Here we concentrate on late Roman and early Byzantine Christian society, with the two cities that in turn replaced Rome as capital of the western Empire, firstly Milan, which became the imperial headquarters in the mid fourth century A.D., and where the bishop Ambrose held powerful sway over Roman emperors. In the early fifth century, the court moved to Ravenna, a city which has earned the title of The Mosaic Capital, and the interiors of the various Christian buildings have to be seen to be believed.

 

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