If the mayor of Nîmes celebrated this year his twenty years at the head of the town hall, it has also been twenty years that the city of Antonins tries to integrate the prestigious list of Unesco World Heritage.
For the third time, Nîmes will submit an application to be labeled Unesco. After the via Domitia, an essay linked to the Pont du Gard and Antiquity to the present, it is the Maison Carrée’s turn to be the face of the city. Mary Bourgade, Deputy Delegate for Unesco Labeling and Ancient Heritage, takes stock of the Nîmes dossier. “ In the last Living Nîmes so far, we have been keen to talk about the Maison Carrée because not everyone knows its history. “
And history is made to evolve, like the labels. Alas for Nîmes! ” Before, and each year, two applications were selected by the State for support at Unesco. Now, France can only support one, be it cultural or natural. This complicates things and lengthens the deadlines, but it also allows other countries to integrate the sites labeled by Unesco. France is helping other nations a lot to achieve this. “It is certain that if the world heritage is not represented across the whole of the globe, it distorts the idea that we have of the thing. Now we have to catch up with decades of sovereign Europeanism.
Mary Bourgade knows that Nîmes has a good chance of achieving this despite the pitfalls. ” Unesco considers that there are already many ancient monuments classified therefore after a meeting provoked by the mayor and the complete analysis of l’Icomos, it emerged that the Maison Carrée was an exceptional building in its conservation. There are only two in the world including one in Rome.
It was off again for a ride. The Maison Carrée stood out majestically. “The fact that we take care of our monuments is a good thing and all the people of Nîmes love this jewel. We do not doubt the universal and exceptional value of the Maison Carrée, but all this is measured according to ten criteria. So we have to prove it once again, but it’s a pleasure to do it! “
A 300-page dossier
It must be said that Nîmes has gained experience over twenty years of testing. In 2021, the team is better than ever. “Our management plan is very well advanced and we are helping a Lebanese city which is a little in difficulty on this issue. It is decentralized cooperation. We do it regularly, for example in Croatia or Tunisia two years ago.“Nîmes-style expertise which is necessarily positive for its” unescosien “aura.
Nîmes is positioned both on respect for its heritage and on the work it undertakes in its favor. “Monuments must be restored, protected. We need to think about our children. They must be able to know this heritage. We owe it to ourselves to preserve it. It is the heritage approach of the mayor, insists the elected. We must persevere in this because the people of Nîmes are attached to the value of their history. Our heritage is Nîmes but it will also belong to the whole world thanks to Unesco. Passion, patience and perseverance characterize our approach. We have to submit our case at the end of the year. He will be in expertise in 2022 and we may be registered in 2023 … Our file is about 300 pages!“
The necessary change
A big and beautiful file. A fabulous square house. Heritage restoration work well underway. A more refined vision. The surroundings of sites that are more respectful of these historic sites. This is the sequence of events. “The Porte de France sector will be exclusively pedestrian and, with the Palais des Congrès, we are continuing to develop the sector. We do not forget the water castle which is not in the buffer zone of the Unesco classification but on which we are working to better highlight it, details Mary Bourgade. We want to link it with Pont du Gard because it is the last piece of the aqueduct and there are only two, the other of which is in Pompeii. For the Porte Auguste, I would like us to finally open the gates so that the public can go down there. Like the Jardins de la Fontaine, access would be free during the day. The interior of the Maison Carrée will be removed. We are going to carry out soundings and find the ancient volumes. We want to show the primary appearance of the walls. All of this must be shared, it is essential and Unesco appreciates it.“
The sharing. Has this notion been lacking in Nîmes in the past? Maybe a little bit. Or was it a little too much discretion? Certainly. In the age of social networks and the media flow, Nîmes should increasingly take up the issue of its communication. ” I would like the Nîmes to seize even more of this adventure. We may not be communicating enough, but their buy-in is important! Each century, the greatest figures in the history of France have come to mark the heart of Nîmes with their passage. We are incredibly lucky! If the Romans returned 2,000 years later, I think they would be happy to see that we respected their work. We are still bringing these monuments to life with the Great Roman Games, bullfights, concerts … “
An inexplicable feeling
Nîmes believes in it and Mary Bourgade is the first. Or in second after Jean-Paul Fournier, the mayor of the city who has followed the file since his beginnings at the head of the town hall. For the chosen one, things are clear. ” It’s been twenty years of apprenticeship! We have to surround ourselves well and we are today. What unites us is the enhancement of our heritage and our history. We are always discovering new things and the scientists we work with have our full support. In return, they also appreciate that elected officials get involved. We are moving forward together towards the same goal. We have a mayor who is present on all the committees and that is also a plus. “
To conclude on a light note, carte blanche is given to Mary Bourgade for her last words. ” Registration is important, very important. For a city, a department or a region, this global recognition is also a cultural recognition. It’s 2,000 years old, it’s beautiful, it’s timeless and it still provides sensations that cannot be explained. Why do we take a picture of the Maison Carrée when we pass by? Something is happening, it’s special. “
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