Avignon is the prefecture of the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the left bank of the river Rhône, the commune had a population of 93,671 as of the census results of 2017, with about 16,000 living in the ancient town centre enclosed by its medieval walls. It is France's 35th-largest metropolitan area according to INSEE with 337,039 inhabitants (2020), and France's 13th-largest urban unit with 459,533 inhabitants (2020). Its urban area was the fastest-growing in France from 1999 until 2010 with an increase of 76% of its population and an area increase of 136%. The Communauté d'agglomération du Grand Avignon, a cooperation structure of 16 communes, had 197,102 inhabitants in 2022.
The Avignon Papacy was the period from 1309 to 1376 during which seven successive popes resided in Avignon rather than in Rome. The situation arose from the conflict between the papacy and the French crown, culminating in the death of Pope Boniface VIII after his arrest and maltreatment by Philip IV of France. Following the subsequent death of Pope Benedict XI, Philip forced a deadlocked conclave to elect the French Clement V as pope in 1305. Clement refused to move to Rome, and in 1309 he moved his court to the papal enclave at Avignon, where it remained for the next 67 years. This absence from Rome is sometimes referred to as the "Babylonian captivity of the Papacy".
Orange is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in Southeastern France. It is about 21 km (13 mi) north of Avignon, on the departmental border with Gard, which follows the Rhône and also constitutes the regional border with Occitania. Orange is the second-most populated city in Vaucluse, after Avignon.
Montfrin is a commune in the Gard department in southern France.
Carpentras is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France.
The Palais des Papes is a historical palace located in Avignon, Southern France. It 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. Since 1995, the Palais des Papes has been classified, along with the historic center of Avignon, as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, for its outstanding architecture and historical importance for the papacy.
The Comtat Venaissin, often called the Comtat for short, was a part of the Papal States (1274–1791) in what is now the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of France.
Châteauneuf-du-Pape is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in Southeastern France. The village lies about 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) to the east of the Rhône and 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) north of the town of Avignon.
A Common Thread (Brodeuses) is a 2004 French film directed by Éléonore Faucher. The film is known as Sequins in the United States.
Villeneuve-lès-Avignon is a commune in the Gard department in southern France. It can also be spelled Villeneuve-lez-Avignon.
Avignon Cathedral is a Roman Catholic church located next to the Palais des Papes in Avignon, France. The cathedral is the seat of the Archbishop of Avignon.
Avignon University is a public university located in Avignon, France and founded in 1303.
Athlétic Club Arlésien is a French association football club originally based in Arles. The club was founded in 1912 as a result of a merger and was formerly known as Athlétic Club Arles, but in 2010, moved to the nearby commune of Avignon and adopted the name of AC Arles-Avignon. Athlétic Club Arlésien last played at a professional capacity in the Championnat de France Amateur, the fourth division in French football; it previously gained four promotions in five seasons to reach Ligue 1 in 2010. They were later relegated after one season.
The massacres of La Glacière that took place during 16–17 October 1791 in the Tour de la Glacière of the Palais des Papes at Avignon, then recently united to France, were an isolated and early example of violence in the opening phase of the French Revolution; the massacres are interpreted by French historians not as presaging the September massacres of 1792 and the Reign of Terror but as a last episode in the struggle between partisans and advocates of the reunion of the papal enclave of Avignon and the Comtat Venaissin with the state of France.
The Musée du Petit Palais is a museum and art gallery in Avignon, southern France. It opened in 1976 and has an exceptional collection of "primitives" and early Renaissance paintings from Italy, which reunites those of the collection of Giampietro Campana deposed by the Musée du Louvre as well as paintings of the Avignon school deposed by the Musée Calvet. It is housed in a 14th-century building at the north side of the square overlooked by the Palais des Papes. The building, built in the early 14th century as the residence of the bishops of Avignon, was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site as part of the historic center of Avignon in 1995.
Culprit is a 1937 French drama film directed by Raymond Bernard and starring Pierre Blanchar, Gabriel Signoret and Suzet Maïs. It is a remake of the 1917 silent film Culprit, which was based on a novel by François Coppée.
Culprit is a 1917 French silent drama film directed by André Antoine and starring Romuald Joubé, Sylvie and Jacques Grétillat. It was based on a novel by François Coppée. In 1937, it was remade as a sound film Culprit.
Jean Duprat was active in the French Revolution in Avignon. At the start of the revolution, he supported the annexation of Avignon by France. He was suspected of involvement in the Massacres of La Glacière in 1791. He was elected as mayor of Avignon in 1792.
Following the unanimous declaration of the various district assemblies of Avignon on June 12, 1790, to unite with France, war broke out between the revolutionary municipal government of Avignon and the more conservative Comtat Venaissin which still pledged loyalty to the Papal States. With the support of French troops placed under its control, revolutionary Avignon forces laid siege to Carpentras, ending the government of the Comtat. However, hardline counter-revolutionary regions of the Comtat under the name the "Union of St. Cecilia" continued fighting until June 1791.
In the aftermath of a war between the pro-French Avignon municipal government and the papist Union of St. Cecilia, three mediators sent by the French National Assembly organized a series of votes to discern the true opinions of the people in the Papal territories of Avignon and the Comtat Venaissin with respect to union with France.
