In Province, France, some amazing ruins from Ancient Rome provide testimony to the wealth and engineering skills the empire’s elites commanded. The Pont-du-Gard still exists as part of the once-enormous aqueduct that brought water 50 kilometers away into the town of Nîmes. Built around 50 CE, it had to have an extremely low gradient to carry the nearly 900,000 gallons of water a day the city demanded. Pont-du-Gard was one of Rome’s highest aqueducts as well, and these photos give you a sense of the size.
Nîmes has a number of exquisite Roman ruins preserved in terrific shape. The last photo shows the Maison Carrée, built in the first decade of the first century as a temple dedicated to Caesar Augustus’ two grandchildren and heirs, who ended up dying before they could assume power. The style of the building is called “Vetruvian,” named for a Roman architect who discussed what temples “ought” to look like (“Maison Carrée” means “square house” in English).
