This walk will enable you to better understand the city’s structure and arrangement. The field of exploration extends from the Rocher des Doms to the far eastern point of the ramparts. The outlines of the ancient Roman city are marked by Rues des Trois-Colombes, Campane, and Paul-Saïn. All the aristocratic dwellings are located at the city’s core. Little hamlets developed at the city’s Matheron and Infirmières gates, where mendicant orders (Carmelites, Augustines) established monasteries.

Further on, larger urban zones were established in the fourteenth century, with the building of houses for skilled and unskilled workers. Thus peripheral proliterian sectors developed outside the walls, around Rue Carreterie.
During the Revolution these neighborhoods professed allegiance to the « red » cause, in opposition to the « white » of the center.

From place Pie to the séminaire Sainte-Garde

Place Pie

The destruction in 1562 of the house of Jean-Perrin Parpaille, son of a former director of the University of Avignon, and an ardent Catholic converted to Protestantism, freed up the plaza that came to be called the Place Pie (Pope Pie VI). Immediately a colonnad was erected, the first stage of what became the fruit and vegetable market place. More houses were torn down and this incarnatin of the market was completed in 1624.

Jean-Baptiste Franque’s new project comprised of stone arcades beneath storage lofts (called « sextiers » ) required its demolition. During the Revolution it was renamed Place d’Armes, continuing as a market for agricultural commerce, and eventually displacing the Place de l’Horloge in this capacity. In 1844, in the western portion of the plaza, a small covered market went up in front of the Commandery. This metal structure increased the market’s commercial capacity.

During the Second Empire, Franque’s structure was in turn torn down, and Rue Thiers was laid (1869-76), opening onto the plaza. The plaza was further enlarged with the unfortunate destruction of the Commandery, and in 1899 a large metal structure was erected to respond to the growing market needs of the city. These market halls were demolished in 1972, replaced by a new edifice with a parking garage at its top ; a discouraging accomplishment, despite recent renovation.

Rue Saint-Jean-le-Vieux extends beyond the outdoor cafés. Walk along it toward the Place Pignotte. In 1316 a group with this name was established which distributed relief to the poor (Italian : pagnotta, bun).

Chapelle de la Visitation

The chapelle du Couvent de la Visitation was built between 1631 and 1638. The inscription on the facade indicates that the sponsor was legate indicates that the sponsor was Cardinal Marion Philonardi, vice-legate to the Pope. This architectural chef-d’œuvre was conceived by François de Royers de la Valfenière. The interior plan is in the shape of Latin cross. The transept of four semicircular arches supports a drum and pendentive cupola.

The east-oriented nave has three barrel-vaulted spans, with the nun’s choir in the center. The facade is an example of what has been called (« incorrectly », A.Breton) the Jesuit style. It has two lines of two superposed orders, composite below and Corinthian above. A powerful cornice separates the levels and emphasizes their horizontality. The lower register is enlivened by a rhythm of breaks that the entablature joins and underlines. The upper has a central bay, is framed by volutes, and is surmounted by a triangular pediment. The rich sculptural ornamentation in the center at the level of the capitals joins forces with the ensemble for a wonderfully balanced and charming construction.

In the nineteenth century the nuns of Saint-Sacrement replaced those of the Order of the Visitation who had been expulsed during the Revolution. This carefully restored chapel and convent buildings are now privately owned.

The Congrégation des Hommes, built between 1751 and 1753 by François Lamy and Esprit-Antoine Rocas, is located next to the Chapelle de la Visitation. Today it is the place of worship for the Italian Mission. Approach the Portail Matheron after turning left on Rue Paul-Saïn. On the right, the house-fronts between Rue Carreterie and Rue Louis-Pasteur were previously the facade of the Augustian Monastery’s chapel, which was entirely incorporated into post-Revolutionary constructions. The place Louis-Pasteur sports a monument in the form of a fountain, that was put up in 1894 to honor « the ideal mayor » Guillaume Puy. He revided the city’s economy after the Revolution. Continue along Rue Louis-Pasteur to the Hôpital Sainte-Marthe.

Hôpital Sainte-Marthe

In 1354 the knight and judge Bernard Rascas and his wife Louise founded the Hôpital Sainte-Marthe. The Couvent des Trinitaires was attached to the site to provide spiritual and material assistance to provide spiritual and material assistance to the ill.

The couple devoted 10,000 gold florins to the project, which was an appreciable sum at the time, considering that a few years earlier the Pope had purchased the city of Avignon and its territories for 80,000 florins. The donation was supplemented upon Bernard Rascas’death. Public recognition of his largess quickly led to the qualification of his name with « Saint ». This is why the hospital and the deed were often designated with the name Saint Bernard.

The Cardinal-Legate Julien de la Rovere transformed it into a municipal hospital in 1481, adding two annual rectors to the administration of the Trinitarians, who ended all administrative connections in 1552. In the beginning of the seventeenth century the old Gothic constructions risked falling to ruin. Enormous efforts were made to save them, but they had to be replaced nevertheless. Between 1637 and 1645, thanks to a donation by Monsieur de Vaucluse, a rector, a project to create a new building for the convalescents was begun. This building was partially destroyed by a later work. In 1667 construction began in earnest (and lasted more than 150 years) on the sumptuous 15 meter facade that can be seen today. The stage of construction begun in 1667 concerned the edification of the central pavilion that contains the great staircase designed by Paul de la Valfenière.

During a second stage (189-93), Jean Péru imposed his conception on the ensemble with the convalescent wing to the left of the pavillon. The right side of the building, up to the Chapelle des Trinitaires, and towards the ramparts, was erected between 1743 and 1745 by Jean-Baptiste Franque, who preserved the original model. He solicited the help of his son François to adorn the central pavilion with a large portico. It was not untill 1830 that the eastern wing, begun by Péru, was finally completed.

The facade is comprised of two levels. The ground level is relatively high. Its windows are surmonted with segmentary arches and alternating triangular and curved pediments. The second floor has square windows whose casings extend downwards to larger blocks with guttae beneath. The ensemble is topped with an equal number of picturesque lucarnes. This disposition accentuates the verticality of the narrow and close elements, and countervalances the great length of the building. Franque’s central portico is comprised of powerful superposed Doric and Ionic columns, supporting a triangular pediment. The portico’s projection from the entryway adds a fine balance to the building.

The Hôpital Saint-Marthe maintained its functions until 1980. At that point a new hospital, built on the outskirts of Avignon, near the banks of the Durance, took over for it. Saint-Marthe’s buildings were then designated to house different departments of the university. After much renovation, the University Saint-Marthe opened its doors to students in September, 1997.

If the Saint-Marthe door is open, traverse the university grounds to reach the Porte Saint-Lazare. If not, follow Rue de Rascas. The chapel of the nuns of Saint-Joseph, with its two-story facade and pediment, is located at the intersection of Rue Sambuc. The hospital, which was run by these sisters and designed by Jean-Baptiste Franque (1751), has been called Franque’s « most elegant and graceful religious edifice » (J.Girard). Follow Rue Saint-Bernard to the Porte Saint-Lazare, and walk through. Originally the Porte Saint-Lazare had only one opening.

In 1568, during the Wars of Religion, it was fortified with a ravelin, or square emplacement, remains of whose round tower can still be seen beside the enormous plain tree planted c.1830. Like Marie de Médici’s entry in 1600, most grand formal, royal and princely processions into the city passed through this gate.

Normally they would follow Rue Carreterie, along which you should now be walking. These were jubilant celebrations, with the entire population taking part. The trajectory of lavish corteges was marked with banners and triumphal arches. The intersection with Rue des Infirmières maintains the name Carrefour de la Belle-Croix. In the fifteenth century it was the site of a flamboyant kiosk, ornamented with pinnacles and a baldachin above a cross. Infirmières, means nurses, and the appellation « Rue des Infirmières » is derived from the name of the gate from which it leads.

The Portail des Infirmières may be named after the Saint-Lazare « infirmières », who cared for lepers. Next, take a left onto Rue Cabassole. This leads to Rue Carreterie, where you should turn right.

Clocher des Augustins

This was one of the earliest Augustine convents in Provence, first occupied in the second half of the thirteenth century outside the city walls near the Portail Matheron, not far from the Carmelites who were located on the same street. The church was apparently complete by the beginning of the fourteenth century and is probably one of the first examples of Gothic Avignonese style. It was later enlarged and renovated by John XXII, who added chapels to the eastern portion of the church. At the time, this neighborhood was growing rapidly, with artisans as well as small merchants. The Augustines began construction of a bell tower in 1372 and completed it in 1377. It is the only visible remnant of what was one of the largest convents in Avignon.

This bell tower, similar to that of the neighboring Carmelites, exemplifies all of the typical characteristics pf the Avignonese style of bell tower, with the addition of machicolations over the corbels, highlighting the defensive role of this edifice. During the Revolution this convent was sold in lots and dismantled, while the bell tower was given to the community. However, a recent archeological study (by M. Truel and F. Guyonnet) of the urban plat plan has revealed some vestiges of this church that were formerly believed to be entirely destroyed. In 1497 a public clock was installed in the bell tower. Once of the bells installed here in 1562 is now on display at the Palais des Papes.

Take a look at the door of the Couvent des Carmes, at number 29. Because the church was seat for the Club des Jocobins, and played an important role during the Revolutionary period, the plaza was for a time called Place de la Liberté. In 1889 a fountain was installed to commemorate the Revolution’s centenary ; in 1956 the monument was torn down and replaced with three parking spaces. Sunday mornings a traditional flea market enlivens its space.

Eglise et cloître des Carmes

The Avignon mendicant convents, sold off as national property, were destroyed in the Revolution. As the solde survivor of this group, the Carmelite church remained with its cloister, protected by its dedication to worship. Beginning in 1803, it became the seat of the Saint-Symphorien parish, taking its name, after the secularization of the former church on the Rue Banasterie. It is possible that the mayor renovation and consolidation work carried out in the Carmelite convent during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries were a decisive factor in this choice.

The importance of this convent is also reflected in the local toponomy, with a public square bearing the same name. The carmelites were established in Avignon, outside the city walls near the Portail des Infirmières, during the second half of the thirteenth century. When the Avignon papacy was established, reconstruction of the church was begun thanks to the generosity of John XXII, followed by Clement VI. This undertaking was part of extensive works affecting several monasteries (the Dominican, Augustine and Cordeliers), promoted by various popes and cardinals.

Construction began on a large scale for the church, a large structure with seven bays, as well as the imposing convent buildings. The single nave church features an orderly design with continuous chapels opening to the north and south of each bay. It illustrates well the typical Avignonese style of church, similar to those of Montfavet, Saint-Didier, or the collegiate church of Villeneuve-lès-Avignon. With a simple, two-level elevation, this church was the highest in Avignon. Each bay has solid walls on both sides of the windows in keeping with the architectural tradition of the region and withstanding the tide of northern influences. The thin, extensively fenestrated lateral walls originally carried a frame roof. The present vault dates fro 1836.

On the outside, above the roofs of the lateral chapels, the buttresses are open to allow a continuous passage all the way around this level, visible on the right side of the facade. These buttresses, are another characteristic feature of the Avignon churches of this period. This also pertains to the bell tower, which resembles that of the Augustines. Rising from a rather austere square base is an octogonal level that houses the bell and is trimmed with a row of machicolations resting on arches, evidencing the defensive role and design of these structures. The main facade, on the square, is extremely simple, with a bold solid bare wall that was opened in the fifteenth century with a gabled portal beneath a rose window. To the north of the church stands the cloister that now serves as an entertainment venue during the Avignon Theater Festival.

This church houses important art works, including a seventeenth century gilded altar, sixteenth century baptismal fonts and various sculptures and paintings. These are by Nicolas Mignard : The Virgin Giving the Scapular to Saint Simon Stock, Saint Eloi ; Guillaume-Ernest Grève : Adoration of the Magi, Fours scenes from the Martyrdom of Saint Symphorien ; Philippe Sauvan : Saint Symphorien ; Pierre Parrocel : The Annunciation, The Holy Family.

Take a left as you leave the Place des Carmes, and walk towards Rue des Trois-Pilats and the pretty little paved plaza of the same name. Number 16, the Hôtel de Gasqui, was built in the second quarter of the eighteenth century. Continue a short distance to Rue Lafare, and turn right.
The southern wall and the facade of the Chapelle des Pénitents Violets, built by Jean-Baptiste Péru in 1740, is located at the intersection of the street and the Place du Grand-Paradis. The Place Saint-Joseph is just beyond this. Look up at number 13’s faience inscription by the faïencier Louis Carbonel, dated 1737. The large door of Lycée Théodore-Aubanel is located on one side of the plaza, occupying the space where the Couvent des Carmes stood.

Next, turn on Rue Palapharnerie (from palefrenerie, or pope’s stables), to reach the ramparts. Before passing through the Porte de la Ligne (Jean-Baptiste and Jean-Pierre Franque, 1757), pause before the Grenier à sel (Salt Storehouse) by Jean-Ange Brun in 1756, and recently restored and fit by Wilmotte. The Rhône and the port are located on the other side. The Quai de la Ligne gets its name from legno, Provençal for wood. There is where wood for combustion was unloaded Cross the ramparts again through the postern giving onto Rue Banasterie.

A prison occupies the area to the right, at the foot of the Rocher. The site was formerly an asylum, the Hospice des Incensés, connected with the Pénitents Noirs de la Miséricorde.

Chapelle des Pénitents noirs

The brotherhood of the Pénitents Noirs de la Miséricorde was founded in 1586 by a colonel in the papal infantry, Pompée Catilina. Its mission was to spiritually and physically accompany prisoners, to assist those condemned to death, and then, in the eighteenth century, to attend to the needs of the mentally deranged, for whom a hospice was attached to the chapel.

The Pope granted the Pénitents Noirs the privilege of releasing one condemned prisoner each year. Since their order was dedicated under John the Baptist, this took place on September 8, the day of his beheading. In 1617 Pope Paul V permitted this « delivrance » to occur on any day of the year, to be announced during important solemn ceremonies.

The Pénitents Noirs occupied the priority in 1591, and then the Hôpital Notre-Dame-de-Fenouillet. These buildings were built in 1268 and are located on the other side of the Porte Aurose. Lack of sufficient space soon became a problem. In 1610 they built a sacristy, then in 1631 an antechapel. It was not until the next century that the edifice took on its current appearance.

Concerned about its dilapidated condition, the surgeon and recently named rector Louis-François Manne ordered the restoration of the chapel in 1739. He naturally sought out the artist Thomas Lainée, who was originally from Paris and had worked for the King at Versailles. Lainée had been established in Avignon for twenty-five years, had become a member of the brotherhood, and, among other things, had designed the hospice for the mentally ill.

He drew up the plans for this complicated job which included the reconstruction of the facade, the restoration of the nave’s ceiling, and the re-laying of the interior woodwork. The agreements concerning conditions and details are date 1739. But Lainée fell stick and died on January 28 of that year, without even living to see the new facades. Jean-Baptiste Franque, the Avignonnais architect who had given Lainée the most welcome reception upon his arrival in the city, directed the completion of the work. It is assumed that be carefully followed his predecessor’s plans.

The architecture, decoration and furniture from a unified ensemble « of rare elegance, more worldly than religious » (J. Girard). It is the only surviving Pénitent’ building in Avignon, and is comprised of an antechapel, a chapel, and a sacristy.

The facade is divided into two levels, of different orders. The ground floor’s embossed entablures present a rhythm of Corinthian columns framing the semi-circular arch of the central door, and Corinthian pilasters securing the angles. There is a window on each side, between pilasters and columns. Above the powerful entablatures, the second story offers the same sort of partioning. The four pilasters are surmounted with an Attic entablature creating two projections that are perforated with archivolted windows beneath. These are dominated and linked by the pediment’s segmentary arch. The expanse of the central portion is occupied by a high-relief glory displaying the emblem of the brotherhood : the head of John the Baptist is a dish, carried by cherubs.

The building is accessible through the antechapel, a sort of vestibule where the brotherhood gathered. This hall is decorated entirely with woodwork and fine inset paintings, and pierced with oculi. The ceiling is adorned with eight cartouches in cameo blue by Lauze.

The chapel presents gold and white woodwork whose composite pilasters delimit panels with oculi or tableaux. The ensemble is topped by a balustrade designed by Lainée leading up to the ceiling. An Apotheosis of Saint John the Baptist by Pierre occupies the center. Among the other painters represented are Mignard (1606-68) : Christ on the Cross, The head of Saint John the Baptist, Visitation, and Assumption ; Reynaud Levieux (1613-99) : Saint John the Baptist, Baptism of Christ, Saint-Guillaume d’Aquitaine, Holy Family ; Pierre II Mignard (1640-1725) : Mary Magdalene, Saint Peter Repenting ; Pierre Parrocel (1664-1739) : Saint Sebastian and Saint Roch, Ascension ; Orazio Riminaldi (1598-1631) : San Sebastian…

The marble altars in the antechapel and chapel are the work of the Mazetti brothers. The sacristy is decorated in beautiful sculpted walnut with gilt ornamentation. A splendid ivory Christ by Guillermain (1622-99) and a Saint John by Nicolas Mignard are now in the Musée Calvet.

The Brotherhood of the Pénitents Noirs de la Miséricorde came to an end in 1948. The building was classed in 1906 and became the property of the city. In 1983 it was assigned for traditionalist Catholic worship.

Continue along Rue Banasterie to savor the architectural details of several hôtels. Take Rue Sainte-Perpétue, almost directly in front of number 25. When you arrive at Rue Sainte-Catherine, take note of the church converted into theater. This was the Sainte-Catherine Convent, established c.1251. Turn right and then left, onto Rue Armand-de-Pontmartin, then turn left again, onto Rue de la Croix. The Hôtel de Blanchetti takes up a small space off the Place de la Bulle. This hôtel is really quite large, dates to c.1760, and may be the work of Jean-Pierre Franque. Take Rue Saluces now, to get to the Mont-de-Piété.

Mont-de-piété

In 1577, the congregation Notre-Dame-de-Lorette was founded for the purpose of « relieving the shamful poor ». Its founding as Mont-de-Piété in 1610 instituted its position as a financial lender for Avignon’s poorest population. Avignon’s Mont-de-Piété was the first establisment of this sort in France. Having belonged to Italy, Avignon and the Comtat Venaissin benefited from this Italian influence, for Monte di Pietà had been fixtures of northern and central Italian regions since the end of the fifteenth century.

In this region of Europe where the first refined banking systems were born, the Monte di Pietà proved to be a positive mixture of modern economical principles and charitable relief. Mont-de-Piété have often had a negative reputation, but their vocation was intended to be charitable and educational.

The application of the notion of savings, and the reimbursement of loans, developed into the savings banks of the nineteenth century. These were often created by Mont-de-Piété that managed to survive the turbulence of the Revolution. Except during revolutionary period, the Avignon establishment has known perpetual success which is well-documented in its archives.

In the nineteenth century, the inventiveness of new administrators, replacing the former fraternal membership, revived the institution’s activities. Most notably they constructed additions to the large L-shaped eighteenth-century buildings for silk treatment and commerce. During the twentieth century, as it reinforced its banking sectors and became Crédit. Municipal, the Mont-de-Piété left the buildings on Rue Saluces for good.

In 1986, the municipal archives took up residency there, finding such admirable quarters after many years of changing location.

Musée du Mont-de-Piété et de la Condition des soies