Arènes de Fréjus - Fréjus, Var, France
N 43° 26.074 E 006° 43.713
32T E 316165 N 4811580
Arènes de Fréjus or Amphithéâtre de Fréjus is a 12,000-capacity Roman amphitheatre located in Fréjus, France.
Waymark Code: WM13G1Y
Location: Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France
Date Posted: 12/05/2020
Views: 2
The amphitheater of Fréjus, or Arènes de Fréjus, is a Roman amphitheater built in the 1st century in the town of Forum Julii, today Fréjus.
Its dimensions were 113 meters in length and 85 meters in width; it could accommodate 10,000 to 12,000 spectators.
The Arènes de Fréjus has been listed as a historical monument since 1840.
Denaturation
Large-scale work has been underway since 2007: it involves reconfiguring the arenas with a view to hosting major shows, in accordance with the new safety rules.
In the words of the architect Francesco Flavigny: "The goal of this project is for this building to become usable again and for the further deterioration of the structures to be stopped at the same time. But a first element should be taken into account: here, in Fréjus, the ancient structures no longer exist or almost no longer exist. The bleachers, as we have known them in recent years, were in fact made of masonry resting on blocks of ancient sandstone. Today we could not reproduce these ancient structures. The idea chosen for this site is to build above the ruins. In this approach, this is the complete opposite of the arenas of Arles renovation project. There, it is a matter of restoring structures that are still very present, while our goal in Fréjus is to reproduce the cavea in its exact geometry, but with contemporary materials. We will therefore rather talk about a protective envelope that will hover over the ruins but will not hide them in any way. "
In reality, the Roman amphitheater of Fréjus, whose ruins were celebrated by Victor Hugo, has disappeared under a concrete structure.
Several rock concerts took place in the arenas, in May 1979, the Who gave a concert there during the Cannes Film Festival where they had presented their film "the Kids are Allright"; and on May 26 & 27, 1983 the Serious Moonlight Tour with David Bowie.
In July 1993, a tennis match was organized in this historic monument on the occasion of the Davis Cup: in the quarterfinals, the French team welcomed India, against which it lost 3 to 2.
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