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Top Attractions in Avignon

Avignon Cathedral

Avignon Cathedral is a Roman Catholic cathedral located next to the Palais des Papes in the French city of Avignon. It is the seat of the Archbishop. The cathedral is a Romanesque building, built primarily in the second half of the 12th century. The bell tower collapsed in 1405 and was rebuilt in 1425. In 1670-1672 the apse was rebuilt and extended. The building was abandoned and allowed to deteriorate during the Revolution, but it was reconsecrated in 1822 and restored by the archbishop Célestin Dupont in 1835-1842. The most prominent feature of the cathedral is a gilded statue of the Virgin Mary atop the bell tower which was erected in 1859. The interior contains many works of art. The most famous of these is the mausoleum of Pope John XXII, a 14th-century Gothic carving. It was moved in 1759, damaged during the Revolution, and restored to its original position in 1840. The cathedral was listed as a Monument historique in 1840.

Palais des Papes

The Palais des Papes is a historical palace in Avignon, southern France, one of the largest and most important medieval Gothic buildings in Europe. One time fortress and palace, the papal residence was the seat of Western Christianity during the 14th century. Six papal conclaves were held in the Palais, leading to the elections of Benedict XII in 1334, Clement VI in 1342, Innocent VI in 1352, Urban V in 1362, Gregory XI in 1370 and Antipope Benedict XIII in 1394. The Palais is actually made up of two buildings: the old Palais of Benedict XII which sits on the impregnable rock of Doms, and the new Palais of Clement VI, the most extravagant of the Avignon popes. Not only is the final combination the largest Gothic building of the Middle Ages, it is also one of the best examples of the International Gothic architectural style. The construction design was the work of two of France’s best architects, Pierre Peysson and Jean du Louvres and the lavish ornamentation was the work of two of the best students of the School of Siena, Simone Martini and Matteo Giovanetti. In addition, the papal library housed in the Palais, attracted a group of clerics passionate in the study of "belle-lettres", amongst the future founders of Humanism, Petrarch. At the same time, composers, singers and musicians were drawn to the Great Chapel of the Palais. It was there that Clement VI appreciated the Mass of Notre-Dame de Guillaume de Machault, there that Philippe de Vitry at the pope’s invitation presented his Ars Nova and there that Johannes Ciconia came to study. Due to its immense size, the Palais was also the place where the general organisation of the Church began to change. It facilitated the centralisation of services and the adaption of operations in order to suit the needs of the papacy, creating a truly central administration for the Church. The strength of the Curia, 200 at the end of the 13th century, surpassed 300 at the beginning of the 14th century and reached 500 people in 1316. To this was added over 1,000 lay officials working within the Palais. Despite this, the Palais became obsolete when the papacy found it necessary to return to Rome. The hope of reuniting Latin and Orthodox Christians, along with the achievement of peace in the Papal States in Italy, made the case of returning stronger. Added to that was the strong conviction of both Urban V and Gregory XI that the seat of the papacy could only be the tomb of St Peter. Despite strong opposition from the Court of France and the College of Cardinals, both popes found the means to return to Rome, the first, on 30 April 1362, the second on 13 September 1370. This time, the return was absolute. In the following centuries, the Palais lost all of its former glory, despite it serving as the seat of two anti-popes and many cardinals. It retained, however, a “work of destruction” aspect that French poets and writers have referred to over the centuries, with its powerful sense of beauty, simplicity, grandeur and immortality. Since 1995, the Palais des Papes has been classified, along with the historic center of Avignon, as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, under cultural criteria i, ii and iv.

Fondation Calvet

La Fondation Calvet is an art foundation in Avignon, France, named for Esprit Calvet, who left his collections and library to it in 1810. The foundation maintains several museums and a two libraries, with support from the town. The original legacies of paintings, archaeological items, coins and medals, and medieval sculpture have been added to by many other legacies, and a significant deposit of works of art from the Louvre. The archaeological collections and medieval sculpture are now housed separately in the "Musée Lapidaire" once the chapel of the Jesuit College. The main museum is in an 18th-century city mansion, to which modern buildings have been added; the Library bequeathed by Calvet, and the important collection of over 12,000 coins and medals, have moved to a different location in the city. The foundation has changed its name on several occasions. It was initially called the "Bibliothèque Calvet", then the "Museum Calvet", then "Musée Calvet", and since 1985 the "Fondation Calvet". The foundation now manages seven museums, two libraries, and an important collection of coins and medals. In Avignon: Bibliothèque Calvet, the main library, housed since 1986 in part of what was once a cardinal's palace, the Livrée Ceccano Musée Calvet, the main art gallery, housed in an 18th-century city mansion , the Hôtel de Villeneuve-Martignan Médaillier Calvet, a collection of coins and medals Musée Lapidaire, a collection of sculptures and archeological finds, housed in what was once the chapel of a Jesuit college Museum et Bibliothèque Requien, a natural history museum Musée du Petit Palais, a collection of medieval and renaissance paintings In Cavaillon, 25 km southeast of Avignon: Musée Archéologique de l'Hôtel-Dieu Musées Jouve et Juif Comtadin Local painters, including Pierre Parrocel and the Mignard family, are especially well represented, as is Hubert Robert. Other painters include Josse Lieferinxe, Giorgio Vasari, Luca Giordano, Salvator Rosa, Frans Francken the Younger, Jan Brueghel the Younger, Sebastiano Ricci, Giovanni Paolo Pannini, Joseph Vernet, Jacques-Louis David, Alexis Leon Louis Valbrun, Elisabeth Vigée-Lebrun, Théodore Géricault, Honoré Daumier, Camille Corot, Édouard Manet, Alfred Sisley, Maurice de Vlaminck and Chaïm Soutine.

Pont Saint-Bénézet

The Pont Saint-Bénézet, also known as the Pont dAvignon, is a famous medieval bridge in the town of Avignon, in southern France. A bridge spanning the Rhone between Villeneuve-lès-Avignon and Avignon was built between 1177 and 1185. This early bridge was destroyed forty years later during the Albigensian Crusade when Louis VIII of France laid siege to Avignon. The bridge was rebuilt with 22 stone arches. It was very costly to maintain as the arches tended to collapse when the Rhone flooded. Eventually in the middle of the 17th century the bridge was abandoned. The four surviving arches on the bank of the Rhone are believed to have been built in around 1345 by Pope Clement VI during the Avignon Papacy. The Chapel of Saint Nicholas sits on the second pier of the bridge. It was constructed in the second half of 12th century but has since been substantially altered. The western terminal, the Tour Philippe-le-Bel, is also preserved. The bridge was the inspiration for the song Sur le pont dAvignon and is considered a landmark of the city. In 1995, the surviving arches of the bridge, together with the Palais des Papes and Cathédrale Notre-Dame des Doms were classified as a World Heritage Site.
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