The Saint-Trophime church in Arles, Provence is mostly visited because of the romanesque style facade.
Explore Church Saint-Trophime in Arles
France This Way review: the church of Saint-Trophime is perhaps not extraordinary, but the facade is a very impressive example of 12th century religious architecture and there are some interesting historical features inside the church - it is also free to enter!
The Church Saint-Trophime is situated on the Place de la Republique, one of the two main squares in the centre of Arles. Although it is now called a church, the structure was originally built and used as a cathedral.
Before you enter the church you will want to look at the facade, overlooking the square. This has been meticulously restored and you can see every detail, unlike many 12th century churches where the statues have often become very eroded over the centuries.
This facade is a typical example of romanesque architecture from the 12th century, with columns either side of the door and round arches above the door. You can see numerous statues in the facade, that broadly represent the history of the Last Judgement.
The statues above the door are of Christ, with an angel, an eagle, a lion and a bull around Him. These statues are the common symbols used for the saints Matthew, Mark, John and Luke.
It would not be practical for us to explain every statue - there are more than 50 in total - but in general terms you have statues of saints between the columns, with Biblical animals below. Above the columns you can see the processions - the procession on the left shows the procession of the chosen into heaven, while the procession on the right is those that have been rejected are headed towards hell.
If you now enter the church of Saint-Trophime, it is the front section that is the oldest, from the 12th century. In fact, there is an even earlier section below your feet here, with five rooms below the church that date from the Roman empire.
The fifth section of the nave (just before the transept) is the very oldest, probably from the end of the 11th century, and the rear part of the church was largely added in the 15th century.
There are several features of interest inside the church, including an ancient baptismal font, the altar, a sarcophagus and several statues, among others. There is also an impressive collection of 17th century tapestries, from Aubusson and relating Biblical stories from the life of Christ.
Attractions nearby
A few metres from the church you can visit the cloister of Saint-Trophime, an interesting cloister that was part of the same religious complex as the church and combines romanesque architecture with gothic architecture.
There are numerous places of interest to visit in Arles, above all the important Roman era structures such as the arena, but also the arts centres such as the Van Gogh centre and the LUMA centre, and the well maintained historical town centre: see our guide to Arles for information./p>
See more churches in France. You can find more travel ideas in the Bouches-du-Rhone guide and the Provence guide.
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Cloister Saint-Trophime in Arles
The cloister of the cathedral of Saint Trophime in Arles is an impressive example of Romanesque architecture of the 12th century
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The Roman cryptoporticoes in Arles are a 2000 year old structure built to support the forum
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The Fondation Vincent Van Gogh is a contemporary art gallery in Arles dedicated to the legacy of Van Gogh.
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The French version of this page is at Church Saint-Trophime in Arles (Francais)