Vienne

Vienne was part of the Holy Roman Empire from the 9th through 15th centuries so there are lots of Roman artifacts around. There are also plenty of vineyards.

 

 

We had a walking tour of the town and our first stop was the Cathedral of Saint Maurice.

 

 

There were some interesting decorations on the wall such as these zodiac signs.

 

 

And these cute guys.

 

 

We also saw the cloisters for the St André-le-Bas Monastery.

 

 

It had examples of unusual top decorations for columns.

 

 

Then we saw some of the Roman bits.

 

 

 

There is also a 13,000 seat theater on the side of Mont Pipet.

 

 

Then we visited the Gallo-Roman Museum which has an impressive collection of mosaics.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This amazing one is depicting the Punishment of Lycurgus. It is 23 ft (7 m) by 17 ft (5.2 m). The story is: Lycurgus, King of Thrace, had signed an agreement authorizing the god Pan, the Bacchantes and the Satyrs to pass through his kingdom. But the king broke his treaty and when he did so, one of the Bacchantes turned into a vine and wrapped himself around the king, suffocating him.

 

 

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