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The so-called Temple of Diana is a 1st-century ancient Roman building in
Its roof construction is unusual in that it consists of several elaborate thick barrel-vaulted rooms using carefully cut ashlars supporting an upper floor.
Partly dug into the side of Mount Cavalier, the building was originally flanked by annexes. The main facade is pierced by three large arches.
The remains consist mainly of a vaulted hall of 14.5 x 9.5 m, flanked by two staircases to missing semi-detached buildings. The north side wall has a series of five rectangular niches surmounted by alternate triangular and semi-circular pediments. Between each niche was a column of
File:Nimes-temple de Diane.JPG
File:Nîmes-Jardin de la Fontaine-Temple de Diane-20140526.jpg, Arched bays of the main façade
File:Interior - Temple of Diana - Nîmes 2014.jpg, North wall with rectangular niches
File:Jardins de la Fontaine Dianatempel.JPG, Vault
File:Nîmes-Temple de Diane-6.jpg, Coffered vaulted ceiling
File:Nîmes-Temple de Diane-5.jpg, Coffered vaulted ceiling
File:The so-called Temple de Diane, part of an Augusteum (a sanctuary devoted to the cult of the emperor and his family), Nemausus, Nîmes (14778427063).jpg
Nîmes
Nîmes ( , ; ; Latin: ''Nemausus'') is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Gard Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region of Southern France. Located between the Med ...
, Gard
Gard () is a department in Southern France, located in the region of Occitanie. It had a population of 748,437 as of 2019;Augustus
Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...
. It is located near the gushing spring of "La Fontaine", around which was an Augusteum, a sanctuary devoted to the cult of the emperor and his family, centred on a nymphaeum
A ''nymphaeum'' (Latin : ''nymphaea'') or ''nymphaion'' (), in ancient Greece and Rome, was a monument consecrated to the nymphs, especially those of springs.
These monuments were originally natural grottoes, which tradition assigned as habit ...
. Its basilica
In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica (Greek Basiliké) was a large public building with multiple functions that was typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek Eas ...
-like floor plan argues against it being a temple and there is no archaeological or literary evidence for its dedication to Diana
Diana most commonly refers to:
* Diana (name), given name (including a list of people with the name)
* Diana (mythology), ancient Roman goddess of the hunt and wild animals; later associated with the Moon
* Diana, Princess of Wales (1961–1997), ...
.
The building may instead have been a library. Its facade was rebuilt during the 2nd century and in the mediaeval era it housed a monastery, ensuring its survival.
It was excavated in 1745 during work to create the garden of La Fontaine.
It was painted by Hubert Robert
Hubert Robert (; 22 May 1733 – 15 April 1808) was a French painter in the school of Romanticism, noted especially for his landscape paintings and capricci, or semi-fictitious picturesque depictions of ruins in Italy and of France.Jean de Cayeux ...
and other 18th century painters and was made a monument historique
() is a designation given to some national heritage sites in France. It may also refer to the state procedure in France by which national heritage protection is extended to a building, a specific part of a building, a collection of buildings, ...
in 1840. It is now accessible from the ''jardins de la Fontaine''.
Structure
Its roof construction is unusual in that it consists of several elaborate thick barrel-vaulted rooms using carefully cut ashlars supporting an upper floor.
Partly dug into the side of Mount Cavalier, the building was originally flanked by annexes. The main facade is pierced by three large arches.
The remains consist mainly of a vaulted hall of 14.5 x 9.5 m, flanked by two staircases to missing semi-detached buildings. The north side wall has a series of five rectangular niches surmounted by alternate triangular and semi-circular pediments. Between each niche was a column of composite order
The Composite order is a mixed order, combining the volutes of the Ionic order capital with the acanthus leaves of the Corinthian order.Henig, Martin (ed.), ''A Handbook of Roman Art'', p. 50, Phaidon, 1983, In many versions the composite o ...
. Three other rooms have ceilings decorated with carved coffered ceiling
A coffer (or coffering) in architecture is a series of sunken panels in the shape of a square, rectangle, or octagon in a ceiling, soffit or vault.
A series of these sunken panels was often used as decoration for a ceiling or a vault, also ...
s.
The ancient ''opus sectile
''Opus sectile'' is a form of '' pietra dura'' popularized in the ancient and medieval Roman world where materials were cut and inlaid into walls and floors to make a picture or pattern. Common materials were marble, mother of pearl, and gla ...
'' floor made of precious marble shapes of various colours backed by mortar was discovered the during the excavations of 1745.
References
Related articles
*Maurice-Mollard Plaza
Maurice-Mollard Plaza, named after a former mayor of the town, is a Town square, public square in the historical center of Aix-les-Bains, in western Savoy. Rich in history, the square has undergone many Urbanism, changes over the centuries. It is ...
Bibliography (in French)
*René Barjavel
René Barjavel (24 January 1911 – 24 November 1985) was a French author, journalist and critic who may have been the first to think of the grandfather paradox in time travel. He was born in Nyons, a town in the Drôme department in southeas ...
, « Au festival de Nîmes, '' Les Mouches'' se posent sur le temple de Diane », dans ''Paris-Presse-l'Intransigeant'', 9-10 juillet 1950
* Jules Canonge, ''Térentia, ou Le temple de Diane et les bains romains de Nîmes sous les empereurs'', Giraud, 1843, 36 p.
* Dominique Darde, ''Nîmes antique'', Paris, Monum, Éditions du patrimoine, coll. « Guides archéologiques de la France », 1er mars 2005 (réimpr. 2006), 128 p., broché avec rabats ()
* François Durand, ''Les monuments antiques de Nîmes'', Jo Fabre, 1925,
* M. Ménard, ''Histoire des Antiquités de la ville de Nismes et de ses environs'', Nismes, 1838 (7e éd.),
* Jules Teissier-Rolland, ''Des bains et thermes chez les anciens, des bains romains de Nîmes et du Temple-de-Diane'', Ballivet et Fabre, 1850, 262 p.
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Temple of Diana (Nîmes) Buildings and structures in Nîmes Libraries in France Monuments historiques of Gard