Avignon was one of the cities on our itinerary that interested me most.  Originally, the ship was supposed to dock there for two nights.  For some reason, the M/S Chanson lost its berth.  I could extract no satisfactory explanation for that from anyone in the crew.  On that Tuesday night, we had to dock north of Avignon at Chateauneuf du Pape, a village with a name familiar to wine aficionados. 

         We did not go ashore at Chateauneuf du Pape.  A duo of musicians, Zinzin, came on board to entertain the passengers after dinner.  Fanny and Antoine performed French songs from the 1920’s and 30’s.  Antoine accompanied them on an antique barrel organ.  The duo was emotive and energetic, but the show was overlong for my taste.

Fanny and Antoine, the duo Zinzin

          Already well established as a city during Classical times, Avignon was best known as the seat of the Papacy during much of the 14th Century.  I shall not attempt to summarize here the convoluted background of the Papal court’s move to Avignon from Rome.  Seven popes ruled there. In addition, there were two anti-Popes, meaning that their elections were not accepted by certain factions; I shall spare you the details of those controversies, too. 

The fortifications of Avignon, with thirty-nine towers
 

         Avignon’s Papal Palace, or Le Palais des Papes, is the largest medieval building in the Gothic style.  A local tour guide, Pernille, led us up and down the stairs of the immense, mostly empty, edifice.  Once there had been a library with over 2,000 manuscripts there, huge for its era, but there was no trace of it left.  The Tinel was the palace’s immense banqueting hall.  Apparently, the church dignitaries were more inclined to feast than to fast.   The sumptuous furnishings, tapestries, and even the frescoes had been destroyed by fires.  Only a few chambers retained any wall paintings, and we were not allowed to photograph them. 

The Palace of the Popes, in the most severe French Gothic style

         The popes and cardinals, with their entourages, had occupied luxurious apartments  in the palace. There were hundreds of lesser functionaries and servants as well.  All of them had been male.  Women were not allowed within the palace complex, at least, not officially. 

         I had expected to be impressed by the Palais des Papes, and I did appreciate its size and grandiosity.  Its bareness and scale, however, were oppressive, as was the heat in the poorly ventilated passageways. 

       There were several fine royal tombs in the north courtyard of the. palace.  There were statues of Louis II of Bourbon and Anne of Auvergne, in life and in death, with effigies of their hunting dogs.  I could not identify the subjects of the seated statues.

Courtyard with royal tombs and other Gothic sculpture in the Palais des Papes
 

Mosaic pavement in the Place de l’Horloge with the Latin motto of Avignon, Unguibus et Rostro
(With Claw and Beak, alluding to the city's medieval military might)

 

         The day was too hot for me to wander much in Avignon.  I did notice that the city looked prosperous and well maintained, and increasingly crowded with tourists as the afternoon advanced.