Misplaced Pages

#903096

59-452: A tower with only two storeys was completed in 1302. In spite of protests from the Count of Provence and the population of Avignon, Philippe-le-Bel pressed ahead and built a gatehouse at the end of the bridge. The tower and gatehouse formed part of a fortress with a curtain wall that enclosed several buildings including a chapel and a residence for the châtelain . A third storey was added to

118-582: A bad state when it was seized and sacked by revolutionary forces. In 1791 it became the scene of a massacre of counter-revolutionaries, whose bodies were thrown into the Tour des Latrines in the Palais Vieux. The Palais was subsequently taken over by the Napoleonic French state for use as a military barracks and prison. Although it was further damaged by the military occupation, especially under

177-423: A bill authorising the commune to acquire the tower and its dependencies. From 1821 the town of Villeneuve had effective control of the monument without actually owning it, but instead of repairing the buildings, the town claimed that the ruined structures around the tower posed a hazard and in 1822 ordered them to be demolished and the material sold to cover the costs. In 1834 part of the limestone rock around tower

236-449: A curtain wall at these positions was ever actually constructed and it is possible that the wall formed part of an original plan that was never realized. On the west wall of the tower there are two blocked doorways connecting to the spiral staircase. These are likely to have been used to access garderobes (latrines). On the east face of the tower there are three carved crests under a hood mould . Although they are not clearly interpretable,

295-630: A large number of events annually. These include congresses, parliaments, symposia, reunions and other gatherings, with the largest room, the 'Grande Audience', able to hold up to 700 guests. With 15,000 square metres (160,000 sq ft) of floor space, the Palais is the largest Gothic palace in all of Europe and, due to its many architectural merits, one of the most important in the world. These merits were highlighted by Viollet-le-Duc , author of "Dictionnaire raisonné de l'architecture française du XI au XVI siècle" (Dictionary of French architecture from

354-432: A larger design. In two of the arched niches, and also barely visible on the west wall, there is an interlocking hexagonal pattern in red ochre lines that is decorated with foliage curling around a large rose with five petals. The design is similar to that used to decorate the interior of several other building in the area that date from the same period. The high quality of the carving in the first floor room indicates that it

413-466: A natural rocky outcrop at the northern edge of Avignon, overlooking the river Rhône , was that of the old episcopal palace of the bishops of Avignon. The Palais was built in two principal phases with two distinct segments, known as the Palais Vieux (Old Palace) and Palais Neuf (New Palace). By the time of its completion, it occupied an area of 11,000 m (118,403 sq ft). The building

472-457: A parapet supported on large corbels . At the corners there are semi-cylindrical corbelled turrets (bartizans) to allow the defenders to observe the sides of the tower. The crenellation of the parapet dates from the restoration work carried out in the 1980s. The tower is owned by the commune of Villeneuve-lès-Avignon and is open to the public. The room on the ground floor is used to hold art exhibitions. The first floor room houses an exhibition on

531-494: A research centre on the papacy of Avignon, organised jointly by the École française de Rome and the institut de recherche et d'histoire des textes . The Palais regularly serves as an exhibition centre. The first major exhibition was initiated by René Char , in the Grand Chapel between 27 and 30 June 1947. Entitled "Exposition de peintures et sculptures contemporaines" (Exposition of contemporary painters and sculptors), it

590-432: A semi-circular form. The fireplace is set into the north wall. There is an entrance to a garderobe in the southwest corner of the room. The position is surprising as it would have been almost above the quarters of the châtelain and it is possible that the structure was originally a bartizan which was converted into a garderobe when the upper floors were used as a prison. Three sides of the terrace have machicolations with

649-492: A she-devil with flashing black eyes who glories in the gory past when the building was used as a torture chamber. The Palais today is a historical and architectural landmark and primarily a tourist attraction, drawing around 650,000 visitors per annum, putting it regularly in the top ten most visited attractions in France. It also houses a large convention centre and the archives of the département of Vaucluse , which include

SECTION 10

#1732783673904

708-408: A view towards the bridge. The five other openings are arrowslits. A large recessed fireplace has a chimney which is completely contained within the thickness of the north wall. In the summer it would have been closed off by thick wooden shutters. Some of the walls have traces of wall paintings. Above the fireplace there is the outline of a man's head in bright colours that must have once formed part of

767-511: The Palais des Papes was classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its outstanding architecture and historical importance for the papacy. The Palais is actually two joined buildings: the old palais of Benedict XII , which sits on the impregnable rock of Doms, and the new palais of Clement VI , the most extravagant of the Avignon popes. Together they form the largest Gothic building of

826-432: The bretèche on the exterior and a murder-hole above the entrance passage. The room has a ribbed quadripartite vault in two bays springing from corbels . The corbels are undecorated but the two ceiling bosses are carved with rosettes of acanthus leaves. The room is lit by six openings, four of which are placed in niches provided with stone benches. The only window is in a niche in the east wall and would have provided

885-436: The châtelain and the guards. Charles II, Count of Provence objected to the position of the new fortress and wrote letters protesting that the foundations of the tower were right next to the bridge which was built on his property. In spite of his objections, in 1307 work began on the construction of a gatehouse over the roadway at the end of the bridge. This provoked strong opposition by the inhabitants of Avignon who occupied

944-475: The 10th century and possessed extensive property with over 200 churches spread over a wide area of southern France. In 1290 Philip IV instructed Adam de Montcéliard, the sénéchal of Beaucaire , to negotiate an agreement with the abbey to cooperate in the defense of the right bank of the Rhone. The paréage treaty was signed in 1292. It meant that the abbey surrendered temporal power but obtained protection from

1003-468: The 11th to the 16th century), who referred extensively to the Palais, including the thickness and height of its towers, the strength of its crenelated walls, the use of arches for support on its façades and its ability to withstand heavy and drawn-out sieges. The studium, or private study of Clement VI, is commonly called the chambre du cerf (room of the stag), on account of the celebrated 14th-century frescoes, depicting courtly hunting scenes, that decorate

1062-400: The 18th century when the two upper floors of the tower was used as a prison. They were unblocked as part of the restoration work carried out in the 1970s. When the second floor was added to the tower in the middle of the 14th century, the sloping ridged roof of the earlier terrace was retained and became the floor of the new room. The rib vaulting is divided into three bays instead of two as on

1121-412: The 20th century. Areas of protruding stonework on the north and east sides the tower appear to be the remains of the bonding of a defensive curtain wall . On the east side there is a doorway that may have provided access to a walkway along the top of the wall, while on the north side a similar doorway has been blocked up, presumably at an early date, and fitted with an arrowslit . There is no evidence that

1180-592: The Court of France and the College of Cardinals , both popes found the means to return to Rome, the first, on 30 April 1362, the second on 13 September 1370. This time, the return was absolute. In the following centuries, the Palais lost all of its former glory, despite serving as the seat of two anti-popes and many cardinals. It retained, however, a "work of destruction" aspect that French poets and writers such as Charles Forbes René de Montalembert have referred to over

1239-672: The Middle Ages. It is also one of the best examples of the International Gothic architectural style. The construction design was the work of two of France's best architects, Pierre Peysson and Jean de Louvres, and the lavish ornamentation was the work of two of the best students of the School of Siena (Italy), Simone Martini and Matteo Giovanetti . In addition, the papal library housed in the Palais (the largest in Europe at

SECTION 20

#1732783673904

1298-610: The Palais was also the place where the general organisation of the Church began to change. It facilitated the centralisation of services and the adaptation of operations in order to suit the needs of the papacy, creating a truly central administration for the Church. The manpower of the Curia (Church administration), while 200 at the end of the 13th century, surpassed 300 at the beginning of the 14th century and reached 500 people in 1316. To this were added over 1,000 lay officials working within

1357-549: The Palais. Despite this, the Palais became obsolete when the papacy found it necessary to return to Rome. The hope of reuniting Latin and Orthodox Christians, along with the achievement of peace in the Papal States in Italy, made the case for returning stronger. Added to that was the strong conviction of both Urban V and Gregory XI that the seat of the papacy could only be the tomb of St Peter. Despite strong opposition from

1416-654: The Popes; lo Palais dei Papas in Occitan ) in Avignon , Southern France , is one of the largest and most important medieval Gothic buildings in Europe. Once a fortress and palace, the papal residence was a seat of Western Christianity during the 14th century. Six papal conclaves were held in the Palais, leading to the elections of Benedict XII in 1334, Clement VI in 1342, Innocent VI in 1352, Urban V in 1362, Gregory XI in 1370 and Benedict XIII in 1394. In 1995,

1475-488: The anti-clerical Third Republic when the remaining interior woodwork was cleared away for use of the structure as a stables – the frescos were covered over and largely destroyed – this ensured the shell of the building's physical survival. It was vacated in only 1906, when it became a national museum. It has been under virtually constant restoration ever since. Charles Dickens describes a tour around this building in his book, Pictures from Italy . He describes his guide as

1534-455: The bridge from the papal palace in Avignon. On a number of occasions sections of the bridge were destroyed when the Rhône flooded. The bridge then became impassable and the river had to be crossed by ferry. The harbour on the right bank was at the base of the tower. Eighteenth century drawings show that access to both the fortress and the harbour was controlled by gates on the path leading up from

1593-523: The building was expanded to form what is now known as the Palais Neuf. An architect, Jean de Louvres, was commissioned by Clement VI to build a new tower and adjoining buildings, including a 52-metre (171 ft) long Grand Chapel to serve as the location for papal acts of worship. Two more towers and a bridge were built under Innocent VI. Urban V completed the main courtyard (known as the Court of Honor) with further buildings enclosing it. The interior of

1652-531: The building was sumptuously decorated with frescos, tapestries, paintings, sculptures, and wooden ceilings. The popes departed Avignon in 1377, returning to Rome, but this prompted the Papal Schism during which time the antipopes Clement VII and Benedict XIII made Avignon their home until 1403. The latter was imprisoned in the Palais for five years after being besieged in 1398 when the army of Geoffrey Boucicaut occupied Avignon. The building remained in

1711-562: The centuries, with its powerful sense of beauty, simplicity, grandeur and immortality. The palace's groundbreaking began in AD 1252. Under Philip IV of France who had conflict with Pope Boniface VIII which ended in his death and Pope Benedict XI a mere puppet of Philip who only lasted eight months, Avignon would become the residence of succeeding pontiffs in 1309, when the Gascon Bertrand de Goth, as Pope Clement V , unwilling to face

1770-451: The details of the original structure. The tower was listed as a Monument historique in 1862. The tower is the only surviving element of the original fortress. It sits on a sloping rocky base and has an irregular quadrilateral plan with average dimensions of 13.4 by 15.7 m (44 by 52 ft). It is built of limestone blocks that would have been brought by boat from a quarry near the base of Fort Saint-André . The exterior walls of

1829-412: The east wall. On the outside of the building the doorway is positioned above some projecting stonework that may have been intended as the bonding to a curtain wall that was never built. The entrance was perhaps originally served by a wooden staircase but when the gatehouse was constructed it gave direct access to the châtelain 's residence. The doorway and four of the niches were blocked at the beginning of

Tour Philippe-le-Bel - Misplaced Pages Continue

1888-407: The ground floor and most of the first floor are constructed using rusticated ashlar ( bossage ). There are three floors with a single large room on each floor. The ceilings are 7.5 m (25 ft) in height. The floors are connected by a well-conserved narrow spiral staircase only 1 m (3 ft 3 in) in width located in the northwest corner of the building. The stairs are protected at

1947-470: The ground floor, 2.2 m (7 ft 3 in) on the first floor and 2.0 m (6 ft 7 in) on the second. The tower has been subject to a series of modifications over the centuries. The lower two floors were completed by 1302 while the third floor was added in around 1350. The watchtower was added in the 15th or 16th century, and in the 18th century some of the openings were blocked up. In addition, some changes were made during restoration work in

2006-469: The hands of antipapal forces for some years – it was besieged from 1410 to 1411 – but was returned to the authority of papal legates in 1433. Although the Palais remained under papal control (along with the surrounding city and Comtat Venaissin ) for over 350 years afterward, it gradually deteriorated despite a restoration in 1516. When the French Revolution broke out in 1789 it was already in

2065-700: The history of the Tour Philippe-le-Bel and the Pont Saint-Bénézet. List of rulers of Provence Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include the details below. Request from 172.68.168.226 via cp1108 cp1108, Varnish XID 223237023 Upstream caches: cp1108 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Thu, 28 Nov 2024 08:47:54 GMT Palais des Papes The Palais des Papes ( English : Palace of

2124-533: The hospice had no interest in the monument, in 1808 the Gard préfecture refused to allow it to be put up for sale and as a result the monument became a ruin and was vandalised. A hole in the wall of the tower was used to anchor the chain ferry that carried passengers across the Rhone. From 1821 the commune of Villeneuve rented the monument from the hospice until finally in 1842 the French king, Louis Philippe I , signed

2183-424: The lower two floors. The carved corbels and ceiling bosses are less skilful executed that those on the first floor. The room was originally lit by openings in six niches of which two were windows and four were arrowslits. Those with arrowslits were blocked when the tower was used as a prison and have not been reopened. The arches of the niches differ from those on the lower floors; they have an ogive shape rather than

2242-571: The necessary food. After each conclave, the temporary walls were destroyed, revealing a vaulted room opening to the rest of the palace. Located on the second level of the Saint-Jean tower, the Saint-Martial chapel relates through painting the main parts of Saint Martial's life. Matteo Giovanetti worked there in 1344 and 1345. The reading direction of the painting should be made from top to bottom. From 1347 to 1348, Matteo Giovannetti

2301-529: The river bank along what is now the Montée de la Tour. When the Avignon bridge was finally abandoned in 1669, the fortress no longer served any useful function. It was nevertheless still maintained but in 1777 a government engineer wrote a short report proposing that the fortress be abandoned. Probably, as a result, in 1787, Quintin de Beuverd, captain of the Corps Royal du Génie, produced a detailed report on

2360-539: The state of the buildings. It included a plan and concluded that the buildings were not required by the king. These events were overtaken by the French Revolution in 1789 but the surviving documents allow historians to study the layout of the fortress. With the Revolution the fortress became national property and was no longer maintained. In 1804 the fortress was ceded to the hospice d' Uzès as compensation for other property that had been confiscated and sold. Although

2419-579: The stories of John the Baptist while John the Evangelist resides over the south and west walls of the 5,6 m x 5,3 m and 10 m high chapel. The Palais des Papes regularly hosts art exhibitions. The tradition began in 1947, when the art critic Christian Zervos and the poet René Char organised an exhibition of the likes of Matisse , Picasso , Braque and Mondrian . The exhibitions shown since then include two exhibitions of Picasso (in 1970 and 1973),

Tour Philippe-le-Bel - Misplaced Pages Continue

2478-618: The time with over 2,000 volumes), attracted a group of clerics passionate in the study of " belles-lettres ", amongst them the founder of humanism , Petrarch . At the same time, composers, singers and musicians were drawn to the Great Chapel of the Palais. It was there that Clement VI used the Mass of Notre-Dame of Guillaume de Machaut , there that Philippe de Vitry at the pope's invitation presented his Ars Nova , and there that Johannes Ciconia came to study. Due to its immense size,

2537-431: The top by a rectangular turret. On the first two levels of the staircase there are slots in the external wall to admit light. The roof terrace is 27 m (89 ft) above the ground. The turret projects another 7 m (23 ft) and the lookout tower extends a further 5 m (16 ft) giving a total height of 39 m (128 ft) for the structure. The walls are 2.4 m (7 ft 10 in) in thickness on

2596-406: The tower in the middle of the 14th century. The Saint-Bénézet Bridge was abandoned in 1669 and the fortress then ceased to serve any useful function. The French crown continued to pay for repairs, but after the French Revolution the buildings were abandoned and allowed to fall into ruins. In 1822 the town of Villeneuve-lès-Avignon decided to demolish all of the fortress except the present tower. It

2655-540: The tower. Eventually, 9 months later in August 1308 a peaceful settlement was reached allowing the gatehouse to be completed. In March of the following year (1309), Pope Clement V moved from Rome to Avignon. The fortress was overlooked by the nearby Massif des Anges and the Colline des Mourgues making it difficult to defend. Around 1350, during the reign of either Philip VI or his successor John II , an additional storey

2714-421: The university of jena. Since the chapel is quite limited in space just like the one of Staint Martial, the painter used all available space to make the stories of the two saints known. This is why on the ceiling you can see both holy men and their parents, grandmothers who are half-sisters according to the bible and therefore ad strong familiar bonds between the two saints. The north and east walls are filled with

2773-408: The unwanted pressure from the city of Avignon which wished to control both banks of the Rhône. The 1292 treaty specified that the king could construct a fortress at the western end of the bridge. By 1302, a two-storey fortified tower had been completed. This initial construction work almost certainly included the building of a curtain-wall , a well, a bread oven, a kitchen and some form of lodging for

2832-463: The upper two are almost certainly those of the king of France and the Abbey of Saint-André. The third crest, which has what appears to be an oblique row of three roses, is probably that of Pope Clement VI who purchased the town of Avignon from Joanna I of Naples in 1348. The ground floor of the tower was probably occupied by the guards. There is a small entrance on the north side which is protected by

2891-533: The violent chaos of Rome after his election (1305), moved the Papal Curia to Avignon during the " Avignon Papacy ". Clement lived as a guest in the Dominican monastery at Avignon, and his successor Pope John XXII set up a magnificent establishment there, but the reconstruction of the old bishops' palace was begun in earnest by Pope Benedict XII (1334–42) and continued by his successors to 1364. The site, on

2950-401: The walls and vaults. The subject matter, while common in contemporary secular art, is as unexpected in a room supposedly dedicated to study as it is for a room in a papal apartment. The frescoes were probably painted by French artists, who were either highly influenced by Sienese art or assisted by Simone Martini and/or Matteo Giovanetti, both of whom served as Clement's court painter. This room

3009-545: Was added to the tower with a rectangular turret on the top. The tower was crowned with machicolations . A narrow cylindrical watchtower was added at a later date, perhaps in the 16th century. During the period of the Avignon Papacy the fortress saw much activity with high ranking church officials, princes and notables crossing the bridge. Between 1320 and 1350 several cardinals built palaces in Villeneuve , across

SECTION 50

#1732783673904

3068-432: Was cut away to create a new access route to the port on the Rhône. Some of the stone was used to construct the quay, the rest was supplied to lime kilns . The tower is now the only part of the medieval fortress that survives. The construction of roads and a car-park have obliterated almost all traces of the surrounding buildings, but fortunately, the many documents and pictures that survive in the archives can be used to study

3127-406: Was designed to serve as the main reception area. The rib vaulting is divided into two bays as on the ground floor but the six corbels and the ceiling bosses are decorated with finely carved busts or foliage. The room is lit by six openings set in niches. Of these four are windows and only two are arrowslits. The fireplace is set into the west wall. There is a second entrance with modest dimensions in

3186-474: Was enormously expensive, consuming much of the papacy's income during its construction. The Palais Vieux was constructed by the architect Pierre Poisson of Mirepoix at the instruction of Pope Benedict XII . The austere Benedict had the original episcopal palace razed and replaced with a much larger building centred on a cloister, heavily fortified against attackers. Its four wings are flanked with high towers. Under Popes Clement VI , Innocent VI and Urban V ,

3245-669: Was in charge of the Saint-Jean chapel, located under the Saint-Martial chapel. In contrast to the local holy figure Martial this chapel is dedicated to John the Baptist as well as John the Evangelist and is sometimes even implied to be a link back to Rome and Rome´s St. John Lateran. In this chapel painted by Matteo Giovannetti complex architecture in " perspective construction and developed fictitious rooms and places that are more illusionistic than any pictures before them " according to Dieter Blume an art historian and professor at

3304-692: Was listed as a Monument historique in 1862 and is now open to the public. The treaty of Meaux-Paris , signed in 1229 at the end of the Albigensian Crusade , handed the French crown land on the right bank of the Rhône from Pont-Saint-Esprit to the Mediterranean and a joint interest in the city of Avignon . In 1290 the French king, Philip IV (Philip the Fair), ceded his claim to Avignon to his father's cousin, Charles II of Naples who

3363-467: Was the Count of Provence through his marriage to Beatrice of Provence . As a consequence Philip gave up his share of the strategic Saint-Bénézet Bridge across the Rhone which had been built between 1177 and 1185 by the city of Avignon. The Languedoc end of the bridge was within a kilometer of the Benedictine Abbey of Saint-André on Mount Andaon. The abbey had been founded at the end of

3422-623: Was the starting point for what would later become the Festival d'Avignon . The courtyard of the Palais des Papes is a central performance location during the Festival d'Avignon , which is held every year in July. It is also the site of many cultural and economic events including exhibitions, shows, and conventions. The Palais is also home to the International Congress Centre, which was established in 1976 and today hosts

3481-419: Was used primarily as a reception room. Covered with tapestries on starry blue background, there is actually nothing left of these decorations. Indeed, a fire destroyed the palace in the 14th century: many parts have been restored or rebuilt. During conclaves, it was in this room that the cardinals met to elect a new pope. For the occasion, the room was walled and only a small aperture was left open to provide all

#903096