From la place du Palais to Palais de la Commune

On this walk you will encounter the main landmarks of the city, The Promenade des Doms encircles the historic core of Avignon, which has been inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage list by the Convention of Berlin, 1995. One of the chielf architects of France’s Monuments Historique has called it the « Acropolis of Avignon ». It is one of the most beautiful sites in the world.

Place du Palais

The Place du Palais-des-Papes stands out as the city’s most remarkable architectural ensemble. Because of its exceptional character, due more to chance to planning, it has figured among the sites included on UNESCO’s World Heritage list. The east side is dominated by the facades of the Palais des Papes and the Cathédrale Notre-Dame-des-Doms. To the west, the imposing and heavily ornamented facade of the Hôtel des Monnaies (constructed under the legation of Cardinal Borghese in 1619) is found side by side with buildings that sometimes demonstrate traces of past architectural moments, such as the Tour (Tower) de l’Officialité.

The north side of the plaza is enclosed by the elegant Renaissance facade of the Petit Palais. A stroll in the charming Doms gardens that overlook the plaza affords a wonderfull view.

Hôtel des Monnaies
Conservatoire de musique Olivier Messiaen

The Hôtel des Monnaies is the earliest private Baroque monument in Avignon. A large inscription announces that is was built in 1619 by the Vice-Legate Jean-François de Bagni (1614-21), and that it is dedicated to Paul V, the reigning Pope.

The ornementation on the ground floor is interrupted by the central door an four windows. The rest of the facade is completely blind, and presents an extravagant sculptedécor. Above the dedication the coat of arms of Paul V is borne by angels and crowned with the pontifical tiara. Eagles and dragons, the charges of the arms of the Broghese family, can be seen on enormous garlands of fruit or perched upon the upper balustrade : The Vice-Legate probably also wished to honor the titular Legate of Avignon, Scipion Cafarelli (1607-21), the Pope's nephew, who was commonly called Cardinal Borghese.

Because the archives of the vice-legation were destroyed, nothing is known of the architect of this " most Italian of Avignon's facades " (J.Girard) ; a piece of Rome transplanted to the banks of the Rhône. It has housed the music conservatory since 1860. In 1984 it was renamed after Olivier Messiaen (1908-92) in honor of the Avignon native who became one of the most famous composers of the twentieth century.

Hôtel Calvet de la Palun

This Hôtel seals the southern side of the Place du Palais. It was built in 1789, making it one of the last hôtels built under the pontifical proprietor-ship of Avignon. Designed by Jean-Pierre Franque, it " embodies a fine reminiscience of thePetit Trianon " (A.Breton).

Archives départementales

The departmental Archives owe their origin to an idea from the revolutionary period : the gathering all documents necessary for the functioning of the administrative seat of the department in one place.

On october 26, 1796 the Departmental Archives were initiated. They consisted of documents from administrative, judiciary and religious establishments that had been abolished, documents confiscated from fleeing emigrants, and documents from new departmental intitutions. This is how the charter of the bishopric of Avignon, archives from Galéans-Gadagne family, the prefecture and the regional council, civil registries and the Journal officiel were conserved in the Vaucluse.

Deposited in the Palais des Papes, on the site of the prison restored by chief architect Revoil in 1882, storage spread to the north and to the west of the cloister of Benedict XII, and into the Trouillas and Campane towers. Noteworthy aspects of the former palace remain, such as the decorative wall paintings covering the northern gallery, now occupied by offices, and an interesting fireplace in the Campane tower. But these areas cannot be visited for reasons of security. They are only partially accessible, for example, to researchers who use the reading room and to student groups who visit the site on school excursions.

Still, during the Journée du Patrimoine, two of the archival halls can be visited, as well as the palace's first chapel, the Chapelle de Benedict XII. Built with an inverted ship's frame for a ceiling, it was vaulted in the nineteenth century and comprises a particulary spectacular composition by virtue of its great dimension. It acommodates 2.5 kilometers worth of archival material ! Archival material is regularly exhibited in the entry hall, which is open to the public.

Cathédrale Notre-Dame-des-Doms

The Cathédrale Notre-Dame-des-Doms ?which today is a metropolitan basilica-stands in a prominent position on the rock that overlooks the bend in the Rhône. Its silhouette stands out distinctly against the neighboring mass of the Palais des Papes, though the contrast is harmonious because of the proportion of its square bell tower. This serves well as the western facade, as the narrow dimensions of the edifice are emphasized by the lack of the transept. Erected in 1859 at the top of the recently re-gilded bell tower, a lead statue of the Virgin is visible from all over the city, which she protects with her outstretched arms.

The earliest historical reference to Notre-Dame-des-Doms is dated 1037, and a canonical chapter attests to it in 1096. However, it is generally agreed that the present edifice was not built until twelfth century, in three successive phases. The bell tower and the nave apparently date from the early years of the century.
A few decades later, the cupola with lantern at the front of the choir was probably added, while the porch was only added to the facade in the second half of the century. In both design and decoration (capitals and freize), this porch shows the extent of the influence of Classical architecture, still a strong presence in the region, on Provençal Roman architecture.

During the last two centuries of the Middle Ages, the cathedral was enlarged by the opening of lateral chapels on the north flank, and the upper portions of the bell tower were reconstructed. After that, the only other major modification was made in 1671-72 because the chapter house was too confined within the choir. The architect Royers de la Valfrenière Jr. Built a new apse and François Delbène added a narrow tribune on each side of the nave, with the semicircular Roman arches.

Three pieces of early Roman furnishings remain : one parallelepipedic altar with a sculpted freize (in the choir), a tabular (in the first north chapel) and a rare Episcopal chair in white marble. The sides of this chair are entirely filled with the low-relief representations of Saint Mark's lion an Saint Luke's bull. The late Middle Ages represented by various mural paintings, located in the porch (with preliminary drawings directly on the stone by Simone Martini c. 1340 : Christ Blessing and Virgin of Humility), in the narthex (Allegory of Death, c.1320 ; Baptism of Christ, c.1425), in the adjacent area (Labours of the Seasons) and in the copula drum (Seated Virgin, c.1410). Two fifteenth century sculptures are of particular interest : Chris Suffering, in multicolored stone and a full length Christ Blessing.

Five paintings in the cathedral are by a painter who was a prominent in seventeenth century Avignon, Nicolas Mignard. The Parrocel dynasty, active in the following century, is also represented. The nineteenth century left us the décor of the chapel of the Holy Sacrament, attributed to Devéria. Begun with an encaustic painting technique, it was completed following the artist's ilness- by large canvases painted in the studio.

Cathedral relics

The lateral chapel built by Pope John XXII to house his tomb shelters a rich collection af liturgical ornaments and ecclesiastical plates.

Avignon and Provençal goldsmiths of the seventeenth and eighteenth century are all well represented, while a rare set of Spanish metal works from the fifteenth to the eighteenth century are from a recent donation. At the time of this addition, the baldaquin tomb of John XXII, made by an English stonecutter around 1320, was cleaned and returned to its original location. In the adjoining sacristy, the cabinets are topped by numerous reliquaries. These cabinets are the work of a joiner who later became a comtat politician, Agricol Perdiguier, for his Mémoires d'un compagnon (1854), as well as for the hinged cope chest (a cabinet for storing copes), which is still in use.

On the esplanade, at the entrance to the Rocher des Doms gardens, there is a monument to the city’s dead by Louis Bottinelli (1924. Take the gardens paths back doxn towards the plaza, and head towards the Petit Palais.

In front of the Petit Palais, below the Place du Palais, rue Vieille Juiverie is a reminder of the Jewish ghetto, or “Carrière des juifs”, that was relocated in 1221 to the Saint-Pierre parish. Now turn back towards picturesque rue Pente Rapide. At the bottom of its, slope, on the corner of rue du Puits de la Reille, notice the house of Jean Sudre ( François de Royers de la Valfenière and Jean d’Elbène, 1661). On the other side of the covered passage, at the corner of rue du Vieux Sextier and rue du Pont, is the Maison du Pagadour. Pagadour is the Provençal word for the paymaster of the legation. Cross rue Limas and take rue Courte Limas up to the Poterne Georges Pompidou ( it is to your left), leading out of the ramparts.

Rocher des Doms

The Rocher des Doms is the cradle of the city of Avignon. Signs of habitation dating to the ned of the Neolithic era have been discovered on this bluff, such as a remarkable anthropomorphic stele. As a shelter and refuge for the avignonnais, it was fortified during Roman and Medieval periods, and its plateau soon encompassed cemeteries, chapels and mills. Large ramps permitted entry in the seventeenth century. The first steps towards transforming the Rocher into gardens were made in 1831 and continued throughout the nineteenth century. It was during the Second Empire that the gardens began to assume their current appearance. At that point pools were added and flora brought from the jardin des Plantes.

It is a very agreable and popular place for a stroll, ,with well-maintained plantings and statuary dating from the beginning of the twentieth century. (See Jean Althen’s Venus with Swallows, busts of Félix Gras, Paul Saïn, and Paul Vayson…) It also serves practical functions relating to the city’s reservoir system that can be seen to its sides. The sculptor Bottinelli’s Monument aux Morts was inaugurated in 1924, and fifty years later the grand esplanade over the new reservoirs became the place from which a magnificent view of the Rhône and its valley can be taken in. A delightful, breezy place for meditation and recollection, the Rocher des Doms has always been appreciated by the avignonnais – especially during ravages of the plague – because of the fresh air it provides.

After enjoying the gardens and stopping to admire the view of the roofs of Avignon from the chevet of the cathedral, take the Sainte-Anne stairs back down to the city. Turn right at the bottom of the stairs to discover Urban V’s orchard by passing through the former military store-houses, now devoted to cinema, jazz, dance and artists’ workshops.

The palace gardens and the gardens of Benedict XII, projecting over Urban V’s orchard, extend to the base of the eastern façade, which can be admired from here. This façade, with its powerful towers, is no doubt the pontifical palace’s most majestic. From lft to right, the first tower is the Trouillas, the tallest is the Latrine tower and the Cuisines tower features an immense pyramidal chimney. These are followed by the Saint-Jean and Etudes towers, the Papes (Popes) or Anges (Angels) tower, and the Garde-Robe tower. Upon leaving the leaving the garden, turn right onto rue du Vice-Légat, which leads to the Place de la Mirande.

Hôtel de Vervins

The livrée (Cardinal’s palace) Saint-Martial occupied this site. At the end of the eighteenth century it reverted to Pierre de Vervins, Auditeur Générale of the Avignon Legation, who decided to build the present structure. The agreement for plans by Pierre II Mignard dates to 1687. The building is the twin of the Hôtel de Madon de Châteaublanc nearby. The same elements are employed, but in such a way that the two facades seem quite different.

This hotel has a projecting doorway surrounded by the interlocking quoins that also appear at the angles. The windows of the ground level are segmentally arched ; those of the piano nobile are rectangular and surmounted by panels with medallions framed by palm leaves. At the top and center is an open segmental cornice with Apollo’s head in its midst. After restoration and modification the luxury Hôtel de la Mirande now occupies the site. It took its name from the public square where it is located, also the name of a ceremonial hall (1518) in the Palais des Légats.

Palais de la Commune

Along with the construction of the bridge and ramparts, the erection of the Palais de la Commune in the beginning of the thirteenth century was a symbol of the city’s independence. This oft-reconverted building is located to the south of the Palais des Papes. Constructed as a donjon for the activities of the podestas or consuls, justice was delivered there. The stone tympanum depicting a knight preceded by a horse and followed by a man on foot dates from this period. Retrieved among other objects of the palace, it is now housed in the Petit Palais. This Palais de la Commune (small urban locality) was a palace of the comtat (region) after the fall of the commune in 1251, and until the Pope purchased the city in 1348. In the fourteenth century it became the palace of the marshal of the Roman court, the residence of papal officials in the next century, the seat of the vice-regency, and then an apostolic court-house until the French Revolution. It is currently privately owned.

At the foot of the imposing Saint-Laurent tower, which stands on the southern corner of the Palais des Papes, we enter the rue Peyrolerie, derived from peyroliers the old local term for boilermakers. This street, cut into the stone, with impressive walls towering on each side and spanned by a massive buttress, is one of the most unusual in the city.