Arena of Nîmes
The Arena of Nîmes is a Roman amphitheater found in the French city of Nîmes. Built around 70 AD, it was remodeled in 1863 to serve as a bullring. The Arenas of Nimes is the site of two annual bullfights, and it is also used for other public events.
The building encloses an elliptical central space 133 m long by 101 m wide. It is ringed by 34 rows of seats supported by a vaulted construction. It has a capacity of 16,300 spectators and since 1989 has a movable cover and a heating system.
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[edit] History
As the Empire fell, the amphitheater was fortified by the Visigoths and surrounded by a wall. During the turbulent years that followed the collapse of Visigoth power in Hispania and Septimania, not to mention the Muslim invasion and subsequent reconquest by the French kings in the early eighth century, the viscounts of Nîmes constructed a fortified palace within the amphitheater. Later a small neighborhood developed within its confines, complete with one hundred denizens and two chapels. Seven hundred people lived within the amphitheater during the apex of its service as an enclosed community. The buildings remained in the amphitheater until the eighteenth century, when the decision was made to convert the amphitheater into its present form.
[edit] Trivia
British rock band Dire Straits recorded some of the live video and album, On the Night, here in May 1992.
German Industrial Metal group Rammstein recorded the majority of their DVD, Völkerball, here on July 23, 2005.
American Heavy Metal band Metallica recorded their DVD, Français Pour Une Nuit, here on July 7, 2009.
French New Wave filmmaker François Truffaut filmed part of his first film, "Les Mistons", here in 1957.
WWE hosted a house show here in 2009 and in 2011.
[edit] References
- This article draws heavily on the 22 May 2006 version of the corresponding article in the Spanish-language Wikipedia.
[edit] External links
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