When was the papal palace built

The Palace organizes cultural events, theme tours, exhibitions and concerts throughout the year. In summers, a big art exhibition takes up the Great Chapel while the Main Courtyard becomes an open-air theatre with shows from the Avignon Theatre Festival created by Jean Vilar in Starting in mid-August and continuing until early October, the Popes' Palace is the venue for the Luminescences, a monumental video show and sensorial experience unlike any other.

Palace of the Popes Square, Avignon Festival. Palace of the Popes in Avignon. Gastronomy, markets of Provence, regional products, Christmas traditions, celebrities of Provence The Popes' Palace of Avignon.

At the time, the town was not part of French territory, but belonged to the duke of Anjou, a vassal of the Pope. As such, Pope Clement V deemed it a safe location in which to center the Church.

Italy was consumed by political chaos at the time, and Avignon was also seen as a more central location within the Christian world. Beginning in , a magnificent palace was constructed to house the popes. Completed in less than 20 years in two phases, the Palais des Papes is the largest Gothic palace in Europe and a breathtaking example of the architecture of the time, as well as the site of a collection of intricate frescoes by the Italian master Matteo Giovannetti.

The Great Schism, during which time there were rival players claiming the papacy, lasted until The palace in Avignon remained property of the papacy until the French Revolution, when it was seized by revolutionaries. It was later converted into a military barracks and prison under the Napoleonic administration.

Today, visitors can wander the halls of the papal palace and gander at the former private chambers of the pope, picturing themselves as players in the intrigues of medieval church and state. The palace is surrounded by other monuments, including the Cathedral of Notre Dame des Doms, which predates the papal complex, having been built in Not far away, the Petit Palais , once the residence of bishops, now houses an art museum with an extensive collection of works from the Middle Ages and Renaissance.

A short stroll from the cathedral is Rocher des Domes , a park with panoramic views of the Rhone. The green space, centered around a pond populated by swans and other waterfowl, offers a green refuge from the summer heat to tourists and locals alike. Also adjacent to the complex is the remnants of the St. Benezet Bridge, which once spanned the Rhone. Today only four of the original 22 arches remain, but the construction is solid enough that visitors can still stroll along the span.

Avignon is a popular tourist destination both on its own and as a base for exploring the Provence area. The tourism infrastructure is well developed, and the city can be reached by car, train, or airplane. The climate is relatively mild year-round, but for the most pleasant weather and to avoid summer crowds, consider visiting in the spring or fall.

All rights reserved. The palace came to symbolize the rift in the Catholic Church. By the time antipope Benedict XIII took power in , the church was deeply divided and many people were unsure whether their allegiance lay to Rome or to Avignon. A wooden bridge was built across it in the 12th century but it was later destroyed during a siege in Legend has it that he heard a voice from God telling him to build the bridge in this location and he carried an impossibly large boulder down from the mountains and threw it into the water to lay the first foundation stone.

He was later made a Saint. The bridge became part of the pilgrimage route between Spain and Italy in the Middle Ages and was vital for the newfound Papacy in Avignon. It collapsed in the 17th century Louis XIV was one of the last people to walk across it and it was deemed too expensive to ever rebuild.

Ironically, the bridge is too narrow to dance on, so up until the 19th century, people danced underneath it. Over the following centuries, the palace remained under papal ownership but was only used by visiting dignitaries and slowly fell into disrepair. The bodies of the dead men were thrown into the Tour des Latrines in the old palace. Later, Napoleonic forces used the palace as their barracks and even their stables.

The entire site was eventually turned over to the public in as a museum when restoration work commenced. Today, visitors can stroll around the cloisters, papal bedrooms, and private chapels and marvel at sublime 14th-century frescoes.

The palace opens at 9 a. Click here for more details in English. Opening hours: September 1 to November 1, 9 a. November 2 to February 29, a.

March, 9 a.