Perched above the meeting of two rivers, Lyon once bore another name — Lugdunum, the capital of the Three Gauls and one of the most powerful cities in the Roman West.
To walk today through its slopes, theatres, and gardens is to tread the palimpsest of an empire: a city where politics, religion, and architecture once fused into the idea of Rome itself.

1. The Birth of Lugdunum

In 43 BCE, the Roman Senate ordered the creation of a new colony at the confluence of the Rhône and the Saône. This was not a random choice: the hill of Fourvière offered strategic visibility, access to waterways, and a natural crossroads between the Alps, the Atlantic, and the Mediterranean.
Under the supervision of Lucius Munatius Plancus, veterans of Caesar’s legions founded Colonia Copia Felix Munatia Lugdunum — “the fortunate and prosperous colony of Lugdunum.”
Within a few decades, the city became a miniature Rome: a forum, temples, aqueducts, theatres, and paved streets climbed the hill.

2. The Capital of the Three Gauls

By the reign of Augustus, Lugdunum had surpassed all other Gallic cities in political importance. It became the administrative capital of Gallia Lugdunensis, Gallia Aquitania, and Gallia Belgica — collectively known as the Tres Galliae, the Three Gauls.
Its role was unique: Lugdunum was not just another Roman outpost, but the symbolic heart of the empire north of the Alps, where the emperor’s authority met the diversity of Gaul.

3. The Sanctuary of the Three Gauls

The political soul of Lugdunum lay on the northern hill of Croix-Rousse, where in 12 BCE the Sanctuary of Rome and Augustus was inaugurated by Drusus, stepson of the emperor.
Here stood the federal altar (Ara Romae et Augusti), encircled by statues of sixty Gallic nations, each represented by its chief magistrate.
Every year on August 1st, the Concilium Galliarum — the Council of the Gauls — gathered to celebrate imperial unity, offer sacrifices, and discuss affairs of the provinces.
It was religion as politics, and politics as ritual: loyalty to Rome carved in marble.

Recent excavations confirm that the sanctuary stood on a monumental terrace below the Jardin des Plantes, linked by a ceremonial ramp to a vast amphitheatre. Together, they formed a sacred complex unique in the Western Empire — half temple, half parliament.

4. The Amphitheatre of the Three Gauls

Built in 19 CE by the Gallic high priest Caius Julius Rufus, the amphitheatre was at first a modest structure for about 1,800 delegates.
Its first phase was symbolic, not spectacular — a place for civic ceremonies, speeches, and solemn games rather than mass entertainment.
A century later, under Emperor Hadrian, the monument was expanded to hold 20,000 spectators, becoming the largest amphitheatre in Gaul.
Vaulted corridors, stone seats engraved with the names of the sixty Gallic tribes, and a processional axis connecting it to the sanctuary above turned the site into the physical expression of the Roman order.

5. Daily Life in Lugdunum

Below the twin hills stretched the bustling district of Condate, a peninsula between rivers filled with workshops, warehouses, and docks. Potters, glassmakers, and traders mingled with travelers from the Rhine, Britannia, and Hispania.
Meanwhile, the Fourvière hill was the civic acropolis: theatres for plays and oratory, temples to Cybele and Augustus, and the forum that anchored the city’s political life.
Aqueducts carried water from the hills of the Monts d’Or, feeding fountains and public baths — symbols of Roman prosperity and engineering genius.

6. Decline and Transformation

From the 3rd century onwards, imperial crisis and invasions led to gradual decline. Christianity took root amid persecution: Saint Blandina and the martyrs of 177 CE are still remembered as the city’s moral foundation.
By late antiquity, the Roman institutions had faded, but the memory of Lugdunum endured — its stones reused, its temples converted, its name evolving into Lyon.

7. Rediscovery and Legacy

Centuries of oblivion buried the city’s Roman heart until archaeologists — from François Artaud in the 19th century to Amable Audin in the 20th — began uncovering its remains.
The discovery of the Claudius Tablets, fragments of inscriptions, marble garlands, and bronze crowns slowly brought back the memory of the sanctuary and its federative role.
Today, under the gardens and schools of the Croix-Rousse, the Amphitheatre of the Three Gauls still marks the place where Gaul once spoke Latin to honor Rome.
Recognized as part of UNESCO’s World Heritage, Lugdunum stands as the first European capital north of the Alps — a bridge between Celtic memory and Roman civilization.