Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
peace and unity to Provence, which became a marquisate. In 1032 it joined the Holy Ro-
man Empire.
The marquisate of Provence was later split
in two: the north fell to the counts of Toulouse
from 1125 and the Catalan counts of Barcelona
gained control of the southern part (stretching
from the Rhône to the River Durance and from
the Alps to the sea). This became the county of
Provence (Comté de Provence). Raymond
Bérenger V (1209-45) was the first Catalan count to reside permanently in Aix (the capit-
al since 1186). In 1229 he conquered Nice and in 1232 he founded Barcelonnette. After
Bérenger's death the county passed to the House of Anjou, under which it enjoyed great
prosperity.
Ladder of Shadows: Reflecting on Medieval
Vestiges in Provence & Languedoc
by Gustaf
Sobin is a beautiful lyrical narrative on Roman and
early Christian relics in southern France.
The Popes
In 1274 Comtat Venaissin (Carpentras and its Vaucluse hinterland) was ceded to Pope
Gregory X in Rome. In 1309 French-born Clément V (r 1305-14) moved the papal
headquarters from feud-riven Rome to Avignon. A tour of the papal palace illustrates how
resplendent a period this was for the city, which hosted nine pontiffs between 1309 and
1376.
The death of Pope Gregory XI led to the Great Schism
(1378-1417), during which rival popes resided at Rome and
Avignon and spent most of their energies denouncing and ex-
communicating each other. Even after the schism was settled
and a pope established in Rome, Avignon and the Comtat
Venaissin remained under papal rule until 1792.
The arts in Provence flourished under the popes. A uni-
versity was established in Avignon as early as 1303, followed
by a university in Aix a century later. In 1327 Italian poet
Petrarch (1304-74) encountered his muse, Laura, in Fontaine-
de-Vaucluse. During the reign of Good King René, king of
Naples (1434-80), French became the courtly language.
Top Religious
Architecture
»Palais des Papes, Avignon
»Chartreuse du Val de Béné-
diction, Villeneuve-lès-Avign-
on
»Abbaye Notre-Dame de Sén-
anque, Gordes
»Monastère de la Verne, Col-
lobrières
»Abbaye de Thoronet, Lorgues
