avignon and villeneuve-lez-Avignon

Avignon, the Rhône daughter, proud and respectful of its past, cultivates in his casket considerable cultural heritage. Embedded within its walls the XIV, which seem to spring from the four deposits famous bridge, Avignon is dominated by the magnificent Palais des Papes and the Rocher des Doms, an oasis of greenery and peace, where the panorama beautiful. It must be carried away, carefree time in the maze of streets and be surprised by the sophistication of its mansions, the freshness of its cobbled streets and the charm of the old wheels turning again to the slow pace of Sorgue. We must not resist the call of small squares shaded by plane, which mimic the relaxation time to savor a meal provençal. In addition to the many vestiges of its past splendor, the city of the popes gave the unique opportunity to immerse themselves in a cultural and artistic life intense. Dormant in the summer sun or revived by the Mistral, Avignon declines throughout the seasons of many events that attract thousands of tourists from around the world, the most famous among them being the Festival of drama created in 1947 by Jean Vilar . A vast plain stretches around Avignon such a huge orchard and vegetable garden, and vineyards that stretch of the famous Châteauneuf-du-Pape in Courthézon recall how Avignon deserves its status as capital of Côtes du Rhône. In the same plain, at Château-neuf-de Gadagne, Frédéric Mistral in 1854 created the Félibrige, literary community involved, working for the revival and development of the Provençal language.

Vilteneuve-lez-Avignon, city of Cardinals
Thanks to the Saint-Benezet bridge, Villeneuve-lez-Avignon becomes a privileged place of residence for the papal court.
The cardinals will raise many delivered or palate. In the fourteenth century, Pope Innocent VI founded the Chartreuse du Val de Benediction, the largest in Europe, built at the foot of the imposing Fort Saint-André. La Tour Philippe Le Bel, at the end of the bridge, erected in the land of France, marked retraction of the city.

Avignon, the capital of Christendom in the Middle Ages
Site occupied since Neolithic times, and then Roman city, Avignon is a major commercial center in the twelfth century, thanks in particular to the famous bridge, the only crossing point at the time in the southern Rhône. In the fourteenth century, the city takes off exceptional 9 popes will not succeed, building the famous Palais des Papes and transforming the urban landscape. Religious life, diplomatic, artistic and intense is then necessary to Avignon as the capital of the Christian world: the Altera Roma. After the return of the popes in Rome, Avignon s'embellir continues under the government and vice-legates legates in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Nobility and bourgeoisie, enriched by a flourishing trade, built sumptuous mansions. The nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the city is growing beyond its walls, reinforcing its position as the commercial and cultural crossroads.

Avignon, Heritage of Humanity
Overlooking the city and the Rhône, the Rocher des Doms presents an exceptional monumental landscape, consisting of the Saint-Benezet, the walls of the Petit Palais, the Cathedral of Doms and walls lined impressive gigantic towers of the Palais des Papes. This unique architectural ensemble is classified a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

A bridge of legend
Built in the twelfth century, the bridge of Avignon was the only way over the Rhone, a natural border between France and the Holy Roman Empire. According to legend, the young shepherd Benezet, under divine inspiration, is the cause of its construction. Destroyed in 1226 by Louis VIII at the Crusade, it was rebuilt in the late thirteenth century. Repeatedly battered by the floods of the Rhone, it was finally abandoned in the seventeenth century. It only remains now only 4 arches of the 22 original and beautiful Romanesque chapel, dedicated to his e saint. The famous song, Sur le pont d'Avignon, whose origins date back to the fifteenth century, has spread around the world.