The "Maison Carrée" - The film "Heroes of Nîmes"

An exceptionally preserved  temple 

The inspiration for the design of the “Maison Carrée” came from the temples of Apollo and Mars Ultor in Rome. It is essentially the balance of proportions that is behind its outstanding beauty. The “Maison Carrée” is the only ancient temple to have been completely preserved; it is 26 metres long, 15m wide and 17m high.

The “Maison Carrée” is an expression of the new regime introduced by Augustus. He, of course, played the central role, with all the power now in the hands of one man, and he surrounded himself with his imperial family and created new sites for the staging of special events and to serve as an expression of the public authority. Monuments, inscriptions, statues, portraits and architectural decor individually represent the actions and evolution of the new regime. The “Maison Carrée” in Nîmes, which bore a gilded inscription mentioning the names of the two young children adopted by Augustus, was part of this new political state of affairs.

Temple, stable, church...

The “Maison Carrée” owes its exceptional degree of preservation to its uninterrupted occupation since the 11th century. It has since served as a consular house, stables, appartments and even as a church. After the French Revolution, it became the headquarters for the first prefecture of the Gard region, and was then transformed into departmental archives.

A EXTRAORDINARY FILM IN RELIEF!

Inside the “Maison Carrée”, the multimedia “spectacle” plunges the visitor into Nîmes’ heroic past thanks to the usage of the most cutting-edge resources. This is an experience that transports the visitor back into the very heart of the ancient town.

Visitors are given special glasses to watch the giant panoramic screen, which immerses the visitor into the daily life of an inhabitant of Nîmes during the Roman Empire, the Middle Ages or during the contemporary festivals.
The 20-minute film is focused around an “augur”, a major ceremony held in the ancient Roman temples. During a divination ritual, a “Haruspex” conjures up the images of several of Nîmes’ different heroes. The gladiators of the initial eras are replaced by the sporting excitement of the tournaments, the discovery of the Pont du Gard, and the visual beauty of a torero’s gestures.

Images flow seamlessly out of the screen and the room is engulfed by sound, eliminating all borders between space and time. The visitor becomes one of the heroes of Nîmes and the “Maison Carrée” becomes a temporal doorway into the past and into the history of Nîmes.
This film offers visitors to Nîmes 20 minutes of wonderful entertainment, brimming with emotion and action.

This film was produced by AMAK, a company specialising in 3D films, which has created and produced several 3D films, notably for Vulcania.