For its first edition, the World Living Soils Forum went to Arles-en-Provence.

A capital of ancient and Romanesque architecture. A Provençal capital combined with an artistic capital thanks to the genius of Vincent Van Gogh. World capital of photography. A contemporary capital, with Frank Gehry's tower, like a shimmering rock, reflecting the sky and time.

Arles also remains a village, the capital of Camargue with a harsh climate, reclaimed from the marshes, cracked and burnt by the summer sun, swept by an icy mistral in winter, but above all a land of freedom a world away, of gallops and infinite skies. 

Arles can be breathed in, savoured and observed. It is a city where one must wander. A small square in the clear morning air, a terrace in the golden evening light, a view of the Alpilles, a quay to watch the Rhône go by. Arles is a human, sensory and convivial experience.