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Sur le pont d’Avignon!

Posted on janvier 13th, 2008 by claudie.
Categories: Non classé, culturel, histoire, art, Lifecruiser tour, christmas time, architecture.

 Before all I think to my friend Sophie, who is at the hospital of Marseille. All my thoughts are for her and my wishes are she can read and visit Avignon with us as soon as possible.   Welcome in Avignon! with the Lifecybercruise Tour! Hope you will have great time here with my daughter Anaïs and me, even if there is a fresh wind! You know the “Mistral“?

If you want we can begin our visit with the Christmas market! I know, I took a lot of time to write this post but we had a little probleme with Mélissa’s health and of course I think to Sophie all the time, hoping she can come back at her home as soon as possible.  

click here Always trying to think we are by Christmas Father’s Land! But now, Ladies and Gentlemen, Give me your hands and follow me to another world, at the XIV e century!

The site of Avignon is occuped since the neolithic and after it was a Roman town. At the XII th century, Avignon was an important trade center with its famous bridge, the only passage at this time, in the Rhone’s south part. At the XIV th century, the town took an exceptionnel essort.   Close your eyes in a first time…Now you can open them! We arrive in front of the Popes’ Palace!   The popes’ Palace is the symbole of the Church’s power on the christian world at the XIV th century. Built since 1335, during  not only 20 years, by two popes: Benoit XII and Clément VI. This monument is the most important gothic palace of the christian world. The visitors can live again the fasts of the popes’ court, discovering 25 rooms, apparat, audiences, chapell and popes’ private appartement with their fabulous decors of frescos with some made by the italian artist Matteo Giovannetti. With 600 000 visitors per year, the Popes’ Palace is one of the most visited monument. It is classed with the famous pont, the petit Palais, the Dom’s cathedrale, the impresse wall around the town as humanity heritage by UNESCO.

 click here Avignon will know nine popes, building the famous Pope’s Place and changing the urban landscape. The religion, artistical and commercial life was intense at this time in Avignon , wich became the capital of the christian world, l’Altera Roma. I present you the first pope who was installed in France ( a disaster for Rome which was ungouvernable):

Clément V, the Pope from 1305 to 1314. He is memorable in history for suppressing the order of the Templars.

Jean XXII was pope from 1316 to 1334.  He centralized power and income in the Papacy, living a princely life in Avignon.

Benoit XII was Pope from 1334 to 1342. He also ordered the building of the Palais des Papes in Avignon, called now the old Palace. But before to become Pope he was the Bishop of Pamiers, a town in south west of France. He managed the tribunal of the inquisition against the albigeois heretics From the  15 th july 1318 to the  9 th october 1325 this court of justice did 578 interrogatories. Using this register of questions, wich was conserved since the XIV e century about the daily life of people at this time in the village of Montaillou (a little village in mountains of the Pyrénées), Emmanuel Leroy Ladurie, teacher at the College of France, writted an historical book, called “Montaillou, the Occitan village from 1294 to 1324″. A super book, I red several years ago because Montaillou was our vacation’s destination, summer like winter when the daughters were young. and some people who live still today at this village are the descendants of people who were questionned by Jacques Fournier the future Pope in Avignon and  the names are often the same! But now we are in Avignon. The Popes’ Palace is primarily the result of two palaces being joined together : the Old Palace, built on the East and North sides by Benoit XII, and the New Palace, built by his successor Clement VI, on the South and West sides. When Benoit XII died in 1342, Clement VI began the expansion of his predecessor’s residence and acquired the buildings to the South of the Old Palace for demolition. The new buildings would form a square : the Cour d’Honneur or Courtyard of Honour.

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 La cour d’Honneur: With Clement VI, gothic elegance entered the palace. Intersecting ribs abound : sculptures, «rib bases», mouldings decorate the stone. The walls are covered with magnificent fresoes while the furnishings are enriched with sumptuous hangings.

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The cloister 

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 The Cloister is made up four buildings around a courtyard. The arches which descend onto unadorned solid pillars open onto a covered passage. The upper gallery lit by gemel windows provides a passage between different buildings, which all have crenellations and machicolations.

Terrasse des Grands Dignitaires (The Great Dignitaries’ Terraces)

The terraces originally surmounted part of the New Palace buildings, the Great Promenade Gallery, and the Great Dignitaries’ wing, where Anaïs is going now.

It seems we will fly above the monuments and the city!

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A view of Avignon when you are on  the terrace  

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 You can see The Notre Dame des Doms cathedral wich is located in the heart of Avignon, near the Palais des Papes.

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 Le Petit Palais ( the little Palace ) with behind le fort Saint-André de Villeneuve-lès-Avignon.At the turn of the 14th century, Villeneuve-lès-Avignon was founded and developed through a series of unpredictable vagaries of history. There a king of France came to strengthen his frontiers. The papacy settled on Avignon as its home in exile. The imposing military defence of Fort Saint-André, devised by Philippe the Bel, and the Val-de-Bénédiction charterhouse, founded by Pope Innocent VI, marked the landscape with their monumental presence, testimonials to an era when the banks of the River Rhône were the stage set for great historic events.

 After the departure of the popes to Rome, Avignon continued to prettify with the legats’ governement at the XVII and the XVIII th centuries. Nobles and middle classes becoming rich with the trade built beautiful private hotels. At the XIX th and XX th century, the town grows still. There is so much to say…

 But after this historical visit, we will take the time to visit the cellar of the Popes’ Palace! nothing else than a great Côte du Rhône bottle to appreciate this marvelous site! I’m sure my Captain won’t contradict me!

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For those who want to know more about Avignon in different langages!

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 And why not buy a bag decorated with the  tapissery of the popes! or dinerware!

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   Are you ready to walk on the pont d’Avignon, now? (When i was in Münich, in Germany, we went in a middle Age restaurant and at the end, after several beers, we song, all people, Sur le Pont d’Avignon…A good memory!)  

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Le pont Benezet was built at the XII th century. It was the only way to go over the Rhône. The legend says, the young pastor Benezet heard God who said him to go in Avignon and to build a bridge. Destroyed in 1226 by LOUIS VIII during the Albigeois croisade, it was built again at the end of the XIII th century.  It was abandonned at the XVII th century. There is still 4 arches today on 22 at the origine and a nice roman chapell was built in the memory of Saint Benezet.    

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 The chapell of Saint Benezet.   I think it is time to find a good place for our Captain who can no more walk because she’s to much hungry!  

The cruisers are wait at the pub.     After the culture, the recompense! Come on to the O Neill’s Irish Pub! Weather is too fresh with this mistral and we need a comfy place and we are so hungry now! It is 14h30 and we haven’t eat still!

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An Irish menu with Salmon and an Irish sauce + rice and salad! Simply delicious!

And of course an ambre beer! an Irish beer with a nice mosy! so fresh! so good!

 Dublin is not so long!

And the decoration of the pub is beautiful, and people so nice

Don’t wait to much, my Cruisers! This lunch can’t wait!    

Ice Sculpture Exposition in Brugge by Gattina!

17 comments.

Avignon, a beautiful place.

Posted on décembre 31st, 2007 by claudie.
Categories: Non classé, culturel, histoire, Lifecruiser tour, christmas time.

We had a very good time in Avignon, Anaîs and me. Yesterday night I began the report on my blog. But I will need a little time still, because there are so many things to say about.

Just a little picture of the Popes’s Palace’s shop where you can find many beautiful things to buy. Here the books telling the story of the town and of the Palace in several langages. I can say that there were more Italian than french people around and in the Palace.

There was a beautiful Christmas tree in the middle of the shop and I wanted to take a picture for Gattina as I know she loves Christmas decorations but I’m very timid and I didn’t want people who were present at this moment discover the reporter I am for the Lifecruiser Cyber Tour!

A HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERYONE!

6 comments.

Le pourquoi du comment! The why of the how!

Posted on décembre 28th, 2007 by claudie.
Categories: Non classé, culturel, histoire.

Sunday, I hope to visit “Le Palais des Papes” in Avignon.

I was in Avignon a few years ago during the festival of theater in july. I chose to do a stage for school even if it was my summer’s vacation because I love so much theater. We could see many representations in the town and even one at the Palais des Papes: Le Cid of Corneille. We had lessons of theater too with a professionnel comedian and even atelier of writing. And more, several visits around Avignon.

That’s why I’d like to see again Le Palais and learn more about it.

Learning more about old buildings is learning more about our world today. How could we understand the church position and situation today if we didn’t know its past.

One of my favourite law in France is this of the “separation of the powers between the State and the Church” from 1905,  prohibiting to the State to recognize or to finance anyone religion. The law fixes the no-intervention of the governement in the religious sphere and the no-intervention of the religion in the governement sphere. This principe goes with the principe of the freedom of the religion.

So I like to learn more about the time when Temporel  and Spiritual Powers were so tied; What were the consequences for the face of the world at this time, the good of the situation for the establishement of the States and the bad situation for all humans who had their own vision of the religion or for all of those who had no religious vision at all!

Anyway The Palace of the Popes stands as the mighty symbol of the church’s influence throughout the western Christian world in the 14th century.

 But if you are not interesting in the why of things I can’t blame you. I invite you later to visit me and take pleasure to watch  photos of a beautiful place in south of France!

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