Maison Carree (Square House), Nimes (must see)

The Square House is one of the best-preserved Roman temples anywhere in the former Roman Empire. The monument was constructed between 20 and 12 BCE, during the reign of the Roman emperor Augustus, when the city of Nîmes—then known as Nemausus—was an important Roman colony in southern Gaul. Because of its exceptional preservation and historical importance, the temple was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2023. Today it remains one of the most recognizable Roman monuments in Nîmes.

As you approach the temple, look at the elegant Corinthian columns that frame the entrance. The building stands on a high podium, and a single staircase leads up to the deep front portico, a classic feature of Roman temple architecture. The tall columns are topped with richly carved capitals decorated with acanthus leaves, while the decorative frieze and moldings above them reflect the refined style of Roman architecture during the early imperial period.

Walk around the temple and you will notice how remarkably intact the structure remains after more than two thousand years. The temple was dedicated to Gaius Caesar and Lucius Caesar, the adopted grandsons and intended heirs of Augustus. The dedication was likely formalized around 5 CE, following their untimely deaths, as part of Augustus’s effort to strengthen the imperial cult in the Roman provinces. Although the original dedication inscription that once appeared on the façade no longer survives, historians were able to reconstruct its wording by examining the small holes in the stone where bronze letters were originally attached.

If you stand in the square in front of the temple, you can clearly see how the monument dominates the surrounding space. Over the centuries, the building served many different purposes—including as a church, meeting hall, and administrative building—which helped preserve it during the Middle Ages. Today visitors can enter the temple to watch a short film explaining the Roman history of Nîmes. The temple’s balanced proportions later inspired architects across Europe and beyond, including Thomas Jefferson, whose design for the Virginia State Capitol was modeled on this remarkably preserved Roman monument.