Vaison-la-Romaine (French pronunciation: [vɛzɔ̃ la ʁɔmɛn]; Occitan: Vaison) is a town in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France.
At the end of the fourth century BC Vaison became the capital of a Celtic tribe, the Vocontii, centred on the oppidum in the upper city.
After the Roman conquest (125-118 BC) in the wars against the Salyes, the Vocontii retained a certain degree of autonomy; they had two capitals, Luc-en-Diois, apparently the religious centre, and Vaison which was named Vasio Julia Vocontiorum.
[5] Construction of large public monuments began in the second half of the 1st century: theatre, bridge, aqueducts, thermal baths.
It became one of the richest of Gallia Narbonensis; many houses with numerous mosaic pavements have been discovered[7] and there is a fine theatre on a rocky hillslope, probably built during the reign of Tiberius, whose statue was found in a prominent place on site.
In disturbed times of the Middle Ages, the inhabitants migrated to higher ground on the left bank of Ouvèze, with the shelter of the ramparts and a strong castle.
A new main entrance was built to the north, the peristyle was extended eastwards and adorned with a pond and the upper floor was enlarged.
The private section of the house consists of rooms arranged around the peristyle, including the upper floor accessed by the staircase next to the tablinum.