The Campanus Arch

Right in front of you stands one of Aix-les-Bains’ oldest, and perhaps most mysterious, monuments: the Campanus Arch, which has been here for nearly two thousand years. Built by a prominent local figure, Lucius Pompeius Campanus, around the end of the 1st century, it wasn’t a triumphal arch or a tomb in the usual sense, but likely a grand gateway marking the entrance to the ancient Roman baths.

Campanus inscribed a whole family tree on the monument’s various sections, parents, grandparents, brother, sister, carved in stone like a genealogical record. Though the inscriptions have been worn down and are hard to read today, archaeologists have painstakingly deciphered these Latin plaques, piecing together the story of this influential Roman family. Towering over nine meters tall but surprisingly slender, only about 75 centimeters thick, the arch is also remarkable for its construction: large, carefully cut stones fitted together without mortar, a true masterpiece of ancient craftsmanship. Over the centuries, the arch suffered many indignities, it was incorporated into a stable and a barn, partially buried, and nearly lost in the 19th century.

Thankfully, it was saved and declared a Historic Monument in 1890. Today, it forms a unique heritage ensemble alongside the Temple of Diana and the Town Hall. Unassuming yet captivating, the Campanus Arch is a direct link to Roman Aix and a stone memory stretching across the ages.