The Maison Carrée of Nîmes
The Maison Carrée of Nîmes
Built in the 1st century AD in the Roman colony of Nemausus – today’s city of Nîmes in the Occitanie region– the Maison Carrée is one of the earliest examples of a Roman temple which can be connected to the imperial worship in the provinces of Rome. Dedicated to the presumptive heirs of Augustus, the princes of Youth, prematurely deceased, this building confirmed the control of Rome on the conquered territory while expressing in a symbolic way the allegiance and attachment of the people from the city of Nemausus to Augustus’ dynasty. The architecture of the Maison Carrée and its sophisticated decoration took part, symbolically, in the dissemination of Augustus ideologic program which turned the Ancient Rome from republic to empire, thus opening a new golden age bearer of promises of peace, prosperity and stability known by the name of Pax Romana.
Description is available under license CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0
La Maison Carrée de Nîmes
Édifiée au I er siècle de notre ère dans la colonie romaine de Nemausus – l’actuelle ville de Nîmes en région Occitanie –, la Maison Carrée est un des premiers exemples de temple romain qui peut être associé au culte impérial dans les provinces de Rome. Dédié aux héritiers présomptifs d’Auguste, les Princes de la jeunesse, prématurément décédés, cet édifice affirma le contrôle de Rome sur le territoire qu’elle avait conquis, tout en exprimant de manière symbolique l’allégeance et l’attachement de la population de la ville de Nemausus à la dynastie d’Auguste. L’architecture de la Maison Carrée de Nîmes et sa décoration soigneusement élaborée participaient symboliquement à la diffusion du programme idéologique d’Auguste, qui fit basculer la Rome antique de la république à l’empire, ouvrant ainsi un nouvel âge d’or porteur de promesses de Paix, de prospérité et de stabilité connu sous le nom de Pax Romana.
Description is available under license CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0
ميزون كاري في نيم
شُيّد ميزون كاري في القرن الأول الميلادي في مستعمرة نيموسوس الرومانية – مدينة نيم الحالية في فرنسا - وهي أحد الأمثلة المبكرة للمعابد الرومانية المرتبطة بالعبادة الإمبراطورية في المقاطعات الرومانية. كُرّس هذا الصرح لورثة أغسطس الذين توفوا قبل أوانهم، وهم أمراء الشباب، وعزّز هذا الصرح سيطرة روما على الأراضي التي احتلتها واعتُبر بمثابة إعلان رمزيّ لولاء سكان مدينة نيموسوس لسلالة أغسطس الحاكمة. ترمز الهندسة المعمارية والزخارف المتقنة إلى البرنامج الأيديولوجي لأغسطس، الذي نقل روما القديمة من جمهورية إلى إمبراطورية، ودشّن عصرًا ذهبيًا جديدًا يُعرف باسم "السلام الروماني".
source: UNESCO/CPE
Description is available under license CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0
尼姆方形神殿
方形神殿建于公元1世纪，所在地当时为罗马殖民地内矛苏斯（今法国尼姆）。它是罗马帝国在行省建立君主崇拜相关神庙的早期范例。这里供奉的是奥古斯都早逝的继承者、青年王子。这一建筑巩固了罗马对其征服领土的控制，同时象征性宣示内矛苏斯城居民对奥古斯都王朝的效忠。奥古斯都将古罗马从共和国转变为帝国，开启了被称为“罗马治世”的新黄金时代。神殿建筑及其精致的装饰都融入了他的思想纲领。
source: UNESCO/CPE
Description is available under license CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0
Мезон Карре в Ниме
Возведенный в I в. н.э. в римской колонии Немаус (современный Ним во Франции) Мезон Карре представляет собой ранний образец римского храма, характерного для императорских культов в провинциях Рима. Посвященный преждевременно умершим наследникам Августа, «принцам юности», этот храм способствовал установлению контроля Рима над завоеванной территорией и символически объявлял о верности населения города Немауса династической линии Августа. Архитектура и сложный декор символически передавали идеологическую программу Августа, который превратил Древний Рим из республики в империю, открыв новый золотой век, известный как Pax Romana.
source: UNESCO/CPE
Description is available under license CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0
La Maison Carrée de Nîmes
Erigida en el siglo I d.C. en la colonia romana de Nemausus -la actual Nîmes, Francia-, la Maison Carrée es un ejemplo temprano de templo romano asociado al culto imperial en las provincias de Roma. Dedicado a los herederos prematuramente fallecidos de Augusto, los Príncipes de la Juventud, este edificio fomentaba el control de Roma sobre su territorio conquistado, al tiempo que anunciaba simbólicamente la lealtad de la población de la ciudad de Nemausus a la línea dinástica de Augusto. La arquitectura y la elaborada decoración comunicaban simbólicamente el programa ideológico de Augusto, que transformó la Antigua Roma de república en imperio, iniciando una nueva edad de oro conocida como Pax Romana.
source: UNESCO/CPE
Description is available under license CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0
Outstanding Universal Value
Brief synthesis
Located in the Occitanie region, The Maison Carrée of Nîmes is a pseudoperipteral hexastyle Corinthian-style temple erected in the 1st century CE in the forum of the Roman colony of Nemausus. It was dedicated to the prematurely deceased presumptive heirs of Augustus – Gaius and Lucius Caesar – who were accorded the title Princes of Youth (principes juventutis), through which the dynastic line of Augustus was sanctified and the edifice turned into a temple of imperial cult.
The strategic and symbolic position of the Maison Carrée in the forum in conjunction with other buildings that in the past hosted key political and religious institutions testify to the significance of the monument as a representation of the imperial authority of Rome in Nemausus and the protection of domus Augusta over the city and its citizens.
Through its architectural design that recalls key edifices from the Augustan period in Rome, and its symbolic decorative programme, the temple testifies to the moment of unification of the territory of Ancient Rome and the transition from republic to empire, which carried the promise of peace, prosperity and stability brought by Pax Romana.
Criterion (iv): The Maison Carrée is an early and one of the best-preserved examples of a Roman temple dedicated to the imperial cult in the Roman provinces that testifies to the period of Rome’s transition from republic to empire, reflecting the political system and the imperial ideology that underlay the process of consolidation of the territory conquered by Ancient Rome in the hands of Augustus. Through the historical circumstances of its construction in the Roman colony of Nemausus, its ideological significance as a place of imperial cult, as well as the symbolic architectural and decorative programme, the edifice manifests the values brought to the Roman Empire by Pax Romana.
Integrity
The key elements necessary to express the property’s Outstanding Universal Value are included within its boundary. The structural and decorative elements of the temple have survived in their original form or have been restored with great attention to detail. The cella of the temple has no original elements preserved. The historic setting of the property within the ensemble of the forum has changed due to the evolution of the urban fabric of Nîmes over the years.
Authenticity
Restorations that the temple has undergone since the 17th century helped the Maison Carrée to recover its original form without major structural changes and to preserve its decorative elements. All structural elements of the edifice are original, with the exception of the roofing, the ceiling of the pronaos, and the cella. The materials are still largely original or closely resemble the original local ones. The authenticity of the strategic setting of the Maison Carrée within the space of the ancient forum has been lost. It can be partly appreciated through the form and design of the place de la Maison Carrée, which was created with a view of imitating the historical context.
Protection and management requirements
The property is legally protected as a national historic monument through the Code du Patrimoine (art. L.621-1 to 33). Regulatory protective measures apply to the buffer zone through Site Patrimonial Remarquable mechanism under the Code du Patrimoine, and the relevant planning documents and special zoning restrictions developed under Code de l’Urbanisme and the Code de l’Environnement.
The management structure is based on a cooperation of city services and local and regional partners. Management of the property remains at the local level, in the hands of the municipality of Nîmes, and is executed in collaboration with the Direction Régionale des Affaires Culturelles; Direction Régionale de l’Environnement, de l’Aménagement et du Logement; and the Direction Départementale des Territoires. The Comité de Bien Maison Carrée Patrimoine Mondial de l’Unesco has been established as a decision-making organ, and a Technical Committee that relies on the competences of municipal divisions acts as its operational body.
