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Origin and history

The Municipal Arch of Glanum, located in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence in the Bouches-du-Rhône, is an arch of Roman triumph dating back to the early years of the reign of Augustus. Considered to be the oldest of Narbonnaise Gaul, he marked the entrance of the ancient city of Glanum on the way to the Alps. Its harmonious dimensions (12.5 m long, 5.5 m wide, 8.6 m high) and its carved decoration – chained captives, banners – reveal a strong Hellenistic influence. The upper parts, now extinct, may have included a triangular pediment to balance the structure.

Ranked a historic monument in 1840, the arch is distinguished by its non-adaptative architecture: its central columns, detached from the bay, suggest a desire to define urban norms rather than to conform to them. Comparable to the arches of Orange and Carpentras (Vaucluse), it illustrates the gradual romanization of the region. The reliefs, studied by Pierre Gros in 1981, raise the question of Roman artistic borrowings to Greek traditions in the context of Narbon colonization.

The monument is part of the archaeological complex of Glanum, alongside the neighbouring mausoleum. Its present state, partially ruined, nevertheless retains major traces of the provincial Roman sculpture. The exact location, near Avenue Vincent Van Gogh, makes it a point of major interest for the study of ancient urbanism in Provence. Available sources (Wikipedia, Monumentum) highlight its symbolic role as a monumental gateway to the city, reflecting its political and commercial importance under the Empire.

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