On the Palace of the Popes square, the Petit Palais brings together a former episcopal palace and collections of Italian painting and medieval Provençal art. This photo tour introduces the building and its collections, with information for planning a visit.
The former archbishops’ palace
The Petit Palais Museum is housed in Avignon's Archbishop's Palace, at the end of the perspective formed by the Palace of the Popes esplanade. The elegant Renaissance façade, was built by the cardinal Julien de la Rovère, future pope Julius II at the end of the 15th century, it covers a former palace constructed in the 14th century.
Italian painting from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance
The museum opened in 1976, it presents an exceptional collection of Italian paintings from the end of the Middle Ages to the dawn of the Renaissance.
The museum brings together Italian paintings and medieval Provençal art. Its collections attract both art historians and visitors discovering these works for the first time.
Paintings from different Italian schools are displayed in chronological order. The earliest works, dating from the thirteenth century, show strong Byzantine influences.
The themes represented on the paintings come essentially from a religious inspiration. At the junction of Middle Ages and Renaissance, as time goes by, room after room, the characters lose their symbolic rigidity to embody expressive human beings with delicate figures, as the background, open by the discovery of the perspective, is filled by numerous profane details where the painter expresses his talent and imagination.
Siena, Florence, Venice and Bologna are represented by works with distinct styles. Together they illustrate the variety of Italian painting during the fifteenth century.
In Italy during those 14th and 15th centuries, the painting expresses the mutation of the Occident to Modern Ages. The evolution of painting expresses the decline of the traditional ideological frames, under our eyes rises a vivid sensitivity, humanism, announcing a new era.
Petit Palais museum in Avignon
Middle-age and early Renaissance Italian painting
website : avignon.fr
Palais des Archevêques
Place du Palais
84000 Avignon
tel : +33 (0)4 90 86 44 58
Planning your visit
Museum admission is free. The City announces a closure from 16 to 30 November 2026 inclusive, reopening on 1 December. Check seasonal opening times on the official page before visiting; groups of ten or more must book.
Coming to Petit Palais Museum in Avignon
GPS location : N 43.9527, E 4.8065