Avignon’s history began long before the popes arrived. These eighteen illustrated chapters follow the town’s transformations, from the prehistoric Rocher des Doms to the early twenty-first century.
Origins and the ancient town
Overlooking the Rhône, the Rocher des Doms preserves evidence of Neolithic occupation. The town later developed through Mediterranean trade and, as Avennio, under Roman rule. Collections and archaeological remains reveal a past that is sometimes difficult to see in today’s streets.
Avignon and the Palace of the Popes © Vincent Flachaire
The medieval town and its commune
In the Middle Ages, fortifications, bishops and seigneurial authorities shaped the town’s history. The commune acquired considerable autonomy in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. The royal siege of 1226 weakened it; submission to the counts followed in 1251.
Saint-Bénézet Bridge and Avignon’s position as a crossroads played a major role in trade. The walls and monuments preserve traces of these commercial, political and religious functions.
Saint-Bénézet Bridge © Vincent Flachaire
From the popes to the modern town
In the fourteenth century, the papal court transformed Avignon. After the popes’ return to Rome and the Western Schism, the town remained territory of the Holy See beside France. Avignon and the Comtat were united with France in 1791.
The vice-legate’s procession by Claude Marie Gordot, 1774, Musée Calvet
The nineteenth and twentieth centuries brought railways, new districts and economic change. The revival of Provençal literature and later the Festival founded in 1947 gave the town an important place in cultural life.
Gérard Philipe, painted window by Pochy and Durand