Via Domitia & Roman Heritage – Alpilles

Mas des Figues is located at 2643 Old Arles Road, Saint-Rémy-de-Provence. This road is the Via Domitia — the oldest Roman road in Gaul. Caesar traveled it. You'll be sleeping in his footsteps.

49 BC — Julius Caesar on the road to Mas

In 49 BC, Julius Caesar left Northern Italy for Spain to quell Pompey's rebellion. He traveled along the Via Domitia—the great Roman road that crossed Gaul from northern Italy to Cadiz. His army marched from east to west, from Liguria to Hispania.

From northern Italy, the Via Domitia crosses the Alps via the Montgenèvre Pass, descends towards the Durance River, skirts the Alpilles mountains, crosses the Rhône River near Tarascon and Beaucaire — and heads towards Spain. It is this exact route, traveled by Caesar's legions, that passes in front of what is now the Mas des Figues.

"The legions skirted the Alpilles, those white limestone ridges that cut out

The horizon to the south. At their base, the olive trees. The north wind. The light of Provence.

— Historical reconstruction of the passage of the Via Domitia through the Alpilles, 49 BC.

The Via Domitia route — From east to west, from Italy to Spain

Here is the route taken by Caesar and his legions, from east to west, as it crosses the territory of the Alpilles:

1 — The Alps and the Durance (Italy → Provence)

From northern Italy, the Via Domitia crosses the Alps via the Montgenèvre pass. It descends towards the Durance valley, follows the river westward, crossing inland Provence towards the Alpilles.

2 — The Alpilles and Glanum

Reaching the eastern end of the Alpilles, the road splits. A main spur leads to Glanum — the flourishing Roman town that adjoins present-day Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, whose monuments (the triumphal arch and the mausoleum of the Julius) are among the best preserved in the Roman world.

This branch road follows a route still recognizable today: the Old Road to Arles. The triumphal arch of Glanum marks the entrance to the town—Caesar and his legions passed through this stone gate. Leaving Glanum, the road rejoins the main road at a place called La Gardy.

Mas des Figues is located at 2643 old Arles road.

This path is the Old Arles Road — the very route of the Via Domitia.

Caesar walked where Philippe has been cultivating his olive trees since 1998.

3 — The chapel of Saint-Gabriel and the crossroads

At the westernmost point of the Alpilles, at the bottom of the slope, lay a major strategic crossroads, marked by the Romanesque chapel of Saint-Gabriel—still standing today, one of the jewels of Provençal Romanesque architecture. This crossroads was the meeting point of three major Roman roads:

Via Domitia – main Italy-Spain axis
The Via Agrippa — towards Lyon and northern Gaul
The Via Aurelia — towards the Mediterranean coast, Fréjus and Rome

This triple crossroads made this territory one of the most important road hubs in Roman Gaul — and one of the most strategic in the Empire. Armies, merchants, messengers, travelers: all converged here.

4 — From Ernaginum to Ugernum: the crossing of the Rhône (192 miles from Montgenèvre)

After Glanum, the Via Domitia reaches Ernaginum — the Roman station marked today by the chapel of Saint-Gabriel, the crossroads of the three roads. It then heads towards Tarusco, present-day Tarascon, on the left bank of the Rhône.

It was here that Caesar crossed the river to reach Ugernum — present-day Beaucaire, on the right bank. This crossing point marks a precise kilometer marker: 192 Roman miles traveled from the Montgenèvre pass, or 284 kilometers from Italy.

192 Roman miles = 284 km travelled from the Montgenèvre pass.

The Rhône was crossed at the level of Tarusco (Tarascon) / Ugernum (Beaucaire).

Caesar and his legions were then halfway to Hispania.

— Via Domitia — Roman road marker, 49 BC.

5 — The Augustus variant: Arles and Pons Aerarius

Under Emperor Augustus, the route of the Via Domitia was modified. The road now bypassed Tarascon and went further south to serve Arelate — the large Roman colony of Arles, founded by Caesar in 46 BC and which became one of the most important cities of Roman Gaul.

From there, the road crossed the Rhône towards Pons Aerarius — perhaps present-day Bellegarde — before continuing towards Nîmes, Narbonne, the Pyrenees, and Hispania. This Augustan route coexisted with the older Republican route, and both are visible on Roman maps of the period.

Summary of the complete route (east to west):

Montgenèvre Pass → Durance River → Glanum (Saint-Rémy) → Old Arles Road

→ MAS DES FIGUES (2643 old Arles road) →

Ernaginum (Saint-Gabriel) → Tarusco (Tarascon) → Ugernum (Beaucaire) [192 miles]

Then under Augustus: → Arelate (Arles) → Pons Aerarius (Bellegarde?) → Nîmes → Narbonne → Spain

Le Mas des Figues — Right on the Via Domitia

The address of Mas des Figues — 2643 ancien chemin d'Arles — is not insignificant. This is the popular name that the route of the Via Domitia between Saint-Rémy-de-Provence and Arles retained for centuries. This road saw the passage of:

Caesar's legions in 49 BC, marching towards Spain
Roman merchants transporting oil, wine, ceramics and spices between Rome and Hispania
Medieval pilgrims joining the Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer
The armies of the Revolution, the Empire, the Republic
And since 1998, Philippe Michelot — who cultivates his olive trees, his vines, his organic vegetable garden on this same ancient land

2,000 years separate Caesar's passage from your arrival at Mas des Figues.

The land is the same. The olive trees are still there.

The road to Arles has become an estate driveway.

Roman history has become your everyday holiday.

Glanum — The Roman city 2 km from Mas

Located 2 kilometers from Mas des Figues, the archaeological site of Glanum is one of the most important in France. A Greek and then Roman city founded in the 2nd and 3rd centuries BC, Glanum was abandoned in the 3rd century AD following the Alamanni invasions. Rediscovered in the 20th century, it has yielded exceptional architectural treasures.

The triumphal arch of Glanum — one of the best-preserved Roman arches in Gaul
The Julii mausoleum — funerary monument of the Julii family, in perfect condition
Roman baths, temples, paved streets, peristyle houses
The site is a 10-minute walk or bike ride from Mas des Figues

Coming to Mas des Figues is also staying at the gateway to Glanum — and understanding that the ground you walk on has been trodden by civilizations that shaped Europe.

Van Gogh, César and Philippe — Three perspectives on the same landscape

There is something dizzying about realizing that this landscape — these white peaks of the Alpilles, these olive trees, these black cypresses, this particular blue sky — has gone through 2,000 years of history without losing its essence.

Caesar crossed it on his way to Spain in 49 BC.
Van Gogh painted it obsessively from the Saint-Paul-de-Mausole asylum in 1889
Mistral sang it in Mireille, in 1863
Gounod set it to music from Saint-Rémy in the same year.
Philippe has been cultivating it since 1998, without pesticides, using his own hands.
And you — you will experience it, from your room, at breakfast, while walking in the olive grove

Two thousand years of history. One single path. The old road to Arles.

To discover from the Mas des Figues — In the footsteps of Rome

Glanum Archaeological Site · 2 km — Roman and Greek excavations in situ
Triumphal Arch and Mausoleum of the Julii · 2 km — Roman monuments from the 1st century
Alpilles Museum · Saint-Rémy-de-Provence · 3.5 km — regional history and culture
Chapel of Saint Gabriel · 15 km — crossroads of three Roman roads, 12th-century Romanesque
Beaucaire and Tarascon · 30 km — the crossing of the Rhône by the Roman legions
Arles · 30 km — Roman amphitheater, ancient theater, UNESCO World Heritage Site
Pont du Gard · 55 km — Roman aqueduct, a UNESCO World Heritage Site
Nîmes · 60 km — Maison Carrée, Roman arena, Temple of Diana

Via Domitia & Roman Heritage – Alpilles