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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Alyscamps are a Roman necropolis located in Arles, outside the ancient city on Via Aurelia, in accordance with the funeral traditions of the time. As early as the fourth century, this place became a renowned Christian cemetery, notably after the martyrdom of Saint Genest in 303. The deceased, sometimes transported by the Rhône, were buried there for remuneration, attracting even bishops and pilgrims on the road to Compostela.

In the Middle Ages, the Alyscamps enriched with churches, including a collegiate church in the 11th century, before being ceded to the monks of Saint-Victor of Marseilles in 1035. The transfer of the relics of Saint Trophime in 1152 reduced their prestige. During the Renaissance, carved sarcophagi were looted by lords, and a ship carrying these works sank in the Rhone in the 16th century. The site underwent major changes with the digging of the Craponne Canal and the construction of the railway in the 19th century.

The Saint-Honorat church, classified as a historic monument in 1840, and the Porcelet chapel (1862) bear witness to its heritage importance. The Alyscamps, painted by Van Gogh and Gauguin in 1888, also inspired literary works such as those by Dante and Paul-Jean Toulet. In 2018, the site hosts a parade of the Gucci House, highlighting its contemporary cultural attractiveness.

Local property, the Alyscamps illustrate the evolution of funeral practices, from antiquity to medieval pilgrimage, while remaining an artistic and historical symbol. Their aisle, the subject of a famous ruling of the Council of State on public public dominion, embodies Arlesian collective memory.

Future

The Church of Saint-Honorat is one of the 71 monuments as well as 7 portions of paths have been inscribed since 1998 on the UNESCO World Heritage List under the official title of "Chemins de Saint-Jacques-de-Compostelle in France".

It is on the way to Via Tolosana or "Toulousaine Way" which passes through Toulouse, hence its name, but its starting point is in Arles from where its other name of road of Arles (via Arelatensis), at the departure of the Alyscamps.

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