Protecting and promoting the Pont du Gard

As President of the public institution Pont du Gard, Patrick Malavieille is responsible for both protecting and promoting this 2,000 year old World Heritage site. Here he explains his personal connection with the site and the challenges of his work.

When was your first encounter with the Pont du Gard and what do you remember about it?

P.M: I discovered the Pont du Gard during a school trip when I was about ten years old. I remember being incredibly impressed by the size of the arches. At that time, I never imagined that 45 years later I would be the head of its public body.

You are the Chair of the Pont du Gard's Public Establishment for Site Management. What are the benefits of this public governing body?

P.M: The public governing body brings added rigour and vigour to the Board of Directors. The State, Gard Department, the Occitanie region and surrounding villages and towns, meet up to define the political priorities and give meaning and coherence to the actions of the public body. This is essential if we are to strike the necessary balance between preserving the monument and developing on-site tourism. Securing a commitment and adopting a principled approach to tourist development for the Pont du Gard site takes time. In the long-term, this is very much in the public interest.

What is the significance of the Pont du Gard to the Gard Department?

P.M: The Pont du Gard exists, here in this department, because 2,000 years ago, a flourishing civilisation which extended throughout the entire Mediterranean region, decided to make Nîmes one of the Empire's key cities and wanted it to have modern infrastructure. The bridge, which has endured for centuries, is a symbol of the Department and a totem for the Gard Department. It also represents an important economic resource. With over one million visitors every year, tourism is the Gard Department's - and the Pont du Gard's - main income source, generating major spin offs in terms of work and resources for the region and department. The department recognises its value as well as the challenges and importance of ensuring its sustainability. As a result, it has supported the Public Institution for a number of years now.

How do you manage to protect and promote such a highly popular monument?

P.M: The Pont du Gard benefited from an extensive rehabilitation and redevelopment programme, instigated by the Department in 2000. A number of good decisions were taken at that time to help preserve it in the long term: abolition of road traffic, reclassification of natural landscapes which form a protective screen, welcome desks for visitors in designated buildings, not visible from the aqueduct, interpretation and mediation areas promoting public awareness, State-led campaigns for the restoration of the ancient structure. Some 18 years later, thanks to the daily efforts the on-site teams, we continue to care for the site.

The preservation of this beautiful World Heritage Site also depends on having a good, popular, ambitious cultural policy that helps raise-awareness and promote a respect for the site amongst the general public. To show off the site to its best advantage, our programme particularly focuses on artistic expression. Beautiful light shows, held on summer evenings, glorify the monument.