Arles

Arles, on the Rhone, a city in the department of Bouches du Rhone, France; about 46 miles northwest of Marseilles. Constantine was so delighted with the spot that he built a palace there, and gave the town the name of Constantia. The ruins of the vast amphitheatre and of many other Roman works show its prosperity at that period. Under the Merovingians it became capital of Provence, and from 933 to 1032 was capital of the Burgundian kingdom of Arles. For a brief space it took the form of a Republic, but ultimately became part of Provence. Many ecclesiastical councils were held here. The cathedral of St. Trophimus has a fine portico; the Town Hall dates from Louis XIV.; and there are all the usual public institutions, with a school of navigation. A canal connects Arles with the Mediterranean, and the railway from Paris to Marseilles has a station there. There are factories for making silks, serge, railway carriages, etc., and a great trade is carried on in oil, wine, fruit, and other produce.