Europe and the Mediterranean
Avignon
RAMON LLULL IN AVIGNON
Ramon LLull went to Avignon several times. On his stay in 1309 he seeks the support of the first Pope of Avignon, Clement V for the crusade he is organising to the Holy Land. This papal support had to do with the good relations with the protector of the new pope of Avignon, the King of France, Philip IV the Fair who described Ramon Llull as “vir bonus, justus et catolichus” (“a good, just and catholic man”).
AVIGNON, THEN AND NOW
This city of the Provence is located by the river Rhone, on the route from Paris to the Mediterranean. The ancient Avennio of the Romans occupied in the Middle Ages a strategic place, it was fortified, ideal for communications between Italian cities which favoured trading and the formation of an early middle class that undertook the construction of the impressive Romanesque bridge Saint-Beneset (12th century); the cathedral, of Provencal-Romanesque style is also from the 12th century. As from 1198 Avignon had an ample self-government and in 1290 became of Charles of Anjou.
The city was the seat of the Papacy from 1309 until 1377. This circumstance had a favourable effect in the economy of the city. Today still can be admired the gothic Pope’s Palace of big proportions (15.000m2) built in two phases: the old Palace (1334-1342) Cistercian and austere, and the new Palace (1342-1352) of a more decorated gothic style. The historic city centre was declared World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1995.
