Yesterday, December 27, 2018 Angelina and I toured the crown jewel of Avignon, The Palace of the Popes. We spent a few hours with a histopad tour, and each other, savoring the big monument of this trip to Avignon. I am most impressed with the history and architecture. The keys shown are still the system used in most of the places we have stayed, a double locking lock. Toward the end of the palace tour, we had the bonus of another art display of pieces from various collections, many of which had never been on display before. The tour includes 22 rooms and two courtyards, I favored the chamber of the pope, it was painted with reds and blues with birds and squirrels and patterned plants (no photos were allowed in the painted rooms). I also liked the ¨Stag´s Room¨ with depictions of hunting, fishing and foraging for fruit and nuts, which was a room for the men to frequent. It was painted with nature scenes, lots of green and foliage. Later, walking the square we tried roasted chestnuts for the first time, and we quite liked them. I definitely recommend the tour of the Palace of The Popes when in Avignon, France, it is spectacular. Wear warm clothes, I was freezing the entire time, and had to add some layers after!
Here is some brief history on the palace:
It is one of the largest and most important medieval Gothic buildings in Europe. Once a fortress and palace, the papal residence was the seat of Western Christianity during the 14th century. 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. After the popes returned to Rome, Italian legates took up residence inside the palace until the French Revolution. Later, it was known as the fortress and used as a prison for opponents of the revolutionary party. Surviving the revolution, it became the barracks for the infantry. After an evacuation of the palace, it opened as a museum in 1906. In 1995, the Palace of the Popes was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and attracts 600,000 visitors annually.
Definition of Doms: A title prefixed to the names of some Roman Catholic dignitaries and Benedictine and Carthusian monks.
The Palace of the Popes was a great way to spend our afternoon! There was so much to see and our ticket included an audio guide which was cool to hear about every section. My favorite room had paintings with pretty swirly flowers and birds, squirrels, and bird cages. I love all the detail and the fact that it is all still on the walls. It was cool to see the Mirabilis exhibit too, I always thought that narwhals were mythological creatures, but this exhibit proved me wrong, they had a real tusk! I loved one of the first paintings that had pictures of elephants, sheep, and more. The best view was at the top of the palace and I liked the cone like structure that looks a little bit like some of the structures we saw in Thailand. It was very cold in the palace but we still enjoyed our tour! -Angelina
Comments