Jardins de la Fontaine and the So-Called Temple of Diana
Listen at the stop, then read the transcript and follow the sources behind the story.
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Transcript
The spring at the Jardins de la Fontaine was central to pre-Roman and Roman Nîmes. The city’s ancient name is connected to Nemausus, a local deity associated with the spring.
Roman monumental development transformed the sacred landscape with architecture and water features.
The ruin traditionally called the Temple of Diana is not securely identified as a temple to Diana; its exact Roman function remains debated. So: traditional name, uncertain purpose.
The eighteenth-century gardens later reshaped the area again, making antiquity part of an ordered modern landscape.
This is a good place to notice how Rome absorbed local sacred sites rather than simply replacing them. Empire often governs efficiently by translating existing significance into imperial form.
Even gods can be administratively integrated.