yego.me
💡 Stop wasting time. Read Youtube instead of watch. Download Chrome Extension

Europe's Largest Gothic Palace Was Once Home to Popes | National Geographic


2m read
·Nov 11, 2024

Located on the sunny south of France, picturesque Avignon was once the seat of power for the Catholic Church. The historic center of Avignon is known for its architectural and cultural significance, both of which largely stem from its brief stint as a seat of the papacy.

Ivan Yuan's role as resident of the Pope's was relatively short-lived. The Avignon papacy, or Babylonian captivity as some dubbed it, was controversial within the church and lasted only from 1309 to 1377, but it left behind a lasting imprint on the city. Beginning in 1335, a magnificent palace was constructed to house the Popes. Completed in less than twenty years in two phases, the Palais de Papes is the largest Gothic palace in Europe.

The palace also holds a collection of intricate frescoes by the Italian master Mateo Giovannetti. Seven Popes occupied the palace before the papacy moved back to Rome in 1377. The palace and Avignon were the main property of the papacy until the French Revolution, when it was seized by revolutionaries. It was later converted into military barracks and a prison under Napoleon.

Today, the property is preserved as a museum, and visitors can stroll through its halls and gander at the former private chambers of the Pope. The palace is surrounded by other monuments, including the Cathedral of Notre Dame de Dôme, which was built in 1150. Nearby is the Petit Palais; it was once the residence of bishops and now houses an art museum with an extensive collection of works from the Middle Ages and Renaissance.

A short stroll from the cathedral is Rocher des Doms, a park with panoramic views of the Rhône. Adjacent to the complex are the remnants of the Saint Bénezet bridge, which once spanned the Rhône. Today, only four of the original 22 arches remain, but the construction is solid enough that tourists can still stroll along the span.

Luckily, getting to Avignon is quite easy, and a well-developed tourism infrastructure makes travel simple. The best way to avoid the crowds is to visit in the spring or fall. [Music]

More Articles

View All
Artist Designs Space for All | National Geographic
In the whole time that I’ve lived in Pakistan, I may have gone inside a mosque maybe five times, and it may have been only because of tourism. So, I’ve never actually gone inside a mosque to pray. That was a public space that could have been a world of cr…
The GameStop Infinite Money Glitch Explained
What’s up you, Graham? It’s guys here, and today we got to talk about one of the most requested, most mind-boggling topics of investing insanity that I have ever seen. That’s happening right now and causing some people to make millions of dollars in the p…
The hire package: A look at hiring forms | Employment | Financial Literacy | Khan Academy
This right over here is an image of an I9 form, which is one of the two forms which you will have to fill out when you take a new job. The other one is a W4. We talk about that in other videos. The W4 form is all about how much taxes the employer should w…
Warren Buffett's 7 Rules to be a Great Investor
Price people are really strange on that. I mean, they cause most people, most, most, your listeners are savers, and that means they’ll be net buyers, and they should want the stock market to go down. They should want to buy at a lower price, but they’ve g…
Worked example finding area under density curves | AP Statistics | Khan Academy
Consider the density curve below. This density curve doesn’t look like the ones we typically see that are a little bit curvier, but this is a little easier for us to work with and figure out areas. They ask us to find the percent of the area under the de…
15 Ways People Are Wasting Your Time
Guess what, Aluxer? People waste your time a lot of the time. You may notice sooner rather than later. You might only notice once they’ve taken a big chunk of it. And the worst, you may never notice. You might be giving your time and effort to people who …