Site de l'amphithéâtre antique de Saintes
20 rue Lacurie 17100 Saintes
- Charente-Maritime
- Nouvelle-Aquitaine
The people of the Santons occupied Saintonge in the Gallic era. The Romans conquered the region and settled on the banks of the Charente. The city of Saintes (Mediolanum), located at the western end of a commercial and road axis (via Agrippa) that linked Lyon (capital of the Three Gauls) to the Atlantic facade, quickly became monumental. At the time of Augustus (27 BC - 14 AD), the city probably became the capital of the province of Grande Aquitaine (Aquitania). It then extended from the Loire to the Pyrenees. Mediolanum is endowed with important public monuments: the amphitheatre, the arch of Germanicus, the baths and the aqueduct are still partially visible today. At the time of its peak (end of the 1st century - beginning of the 2nd century), the city must have had several thousand inhabitants. The amphitheatre of Mediolanum is one of the earliest in Gaul. It is possible that its construction began from the reign of Tiberius (14 - 37 AD), to be completed under the reign of Claudius
Tags
Monument historique i Villes et Pays d'art et d'histoire
©Ville de Saintes
