St Agricolus (Agricola) of Avignon, patron of Avignon, France. 10 things you might not know about this French town.
It’s located on the left bank of the Rhône river, a few kilometres above its confluence with the Durance. It’s about 580 km/360 miles south-east of Paris, 229 km/142 miles south of Lyon and 85 km/53 miles north-north-west of Marseille. It’s the capital of Vaucluse département, Provence–Alpes–Côte d’Azur région, and in 2022 had a population of 91,760.
There has been a settlement here for around 5,000 years. It went from a stronghold of the Gallic tribe of Cavares to a Roman city called Avennio, and an independent city until King Louis VIII occupied it in the 13th century.
It was the home of the Pope for almost a century. In 1309 it was chosen as the papal residence by Clement V, because it was more central in the Christian empire than Rome. In 1348 Clement VI, the fourth of seven Avignon popes, bought the town from Queen Joan of Provence. It wasn’t a move supported by everyone. A number of people, St. Catherine of Siena among them, believed the Pope should be based in Rome. For a time there was something called the Great Schism (1378–1417), when there were Popes ruling from both locations.
The Palais des Papes is a tourist attraction to this day, located in the historic centre near the cathedral and the famous bridge. The area became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995. The palace is the largest surviving Gothic palace in Europe, with walls which are 10 feet thick.
Every July, Avignon is host to the Festival d'Avignon, an arts festival founded in 1947 by Jean Vilar. It is the oldest existent festival in France. Performances take place in the courtyard of the Palais des Papes and in other venues throughout the town.
Another big attraction is the Bridge, which was made famous by the song, Sur le Pont d'Avignon. The official name of the bridge is Pont Saint-Bénézet and the first bridge on the site was begun in 1177 after a shepherd called Bénézet claimed to have had a vision in which Jesus told him to build a bridge there, despite the current of the river being particularly strong, which had put off numerous potential bridge builders in the past. You can’t argue with Jesus, though, so the bridge was built, a wooden one to start with. Bénézet died before the bridge was completed but he was made a saint (feast day 14 April) and is the patron saint of bridge builders. The wooden bridge withstood the currents until 1226 when it was destroyed, not by the river but by the forces of Louis VIII of France who laid siege to the town. Beginning in 1234 the bridge was rebuilt in stone, but the stone bridge tended to collapse when the river flooded and was abandoned in the mid-17th century. Only four of the original 22 arches and the gatehouse survive. The song is actually a misnomer because the dance described in it took place under, rather than on, the bridge.
Avignon was also home to a mystic called Marie Robine, Marie la Gasque, or Marie of Avignon. She was originally from Gascony, but made a pilgrimage there in 1387 and believed she was cured of an ailment after visiting the tomb of the cardinal Pierre of Luxembourg in St Michael’s cemetery. She settled in Avignon and became famous for her visions, including one about a virgin, bearing arms, who would deliver France from its enemies. So she predicted Joan of Arc, who would certainly have been aware of the prophecy.
The city is the headquarters of the International Association of the Mediterranean Tomato, the World Council of the Tomato Industry.
A scene in Joseph Heller’s Catch 22 was inspired when the author was serving as a bombardier in the US Air Force. One August day in 1944, he was flying over Avignon and came under heavy fire. The G forces generated by his evasive manoeuvres had him pinned to the perspex dome of his craft. He wrote about it later in the scene where Yossarian gets pinned in a similar position, leaving him dangling from the ‘ceiling’.
Picasso’s painting Les Demoiselles d'Avignon is actually nothing to do with this town at all. The painting shows five prostitutes in a house on Calle de Avinyó (which translates as Avignon Street) which is actually in Barcelona.
Beta
(Combat Team Series #2)
Steff was abducted by an evil alien race, the Orbs, at fourteen. Used as a weapon for years, he eventually escapes, but his problems are just beginning. How does a man support himself when his only work experience is a paper round and using an Orb bio-integrated gun?
Warlord is an alien soldier who knows little but war. When the centuries-old conflict which ravaged his planet ends, he seeks out another world where his skills are still relevant. There are always wars on Earth, it seems. However, none of Earth's powerful armies want him.
Natalie has always wanted to visit England and sees a chance to do so while using her martial arts skills, but there are sacrifices she must make in order to fulfil her dream.
Maggie resorted to crime to fund her sister's medical care. She uses her genetic variant abilities to gain access to the rooms of wealthy hotel guests. The Ballards look like rich pickings, but they are not what they seem. When Maggie targets them, little does she know that she is walking into a trap.
Hotel owner Hamilton Lonsdale puts together a combat team to pit against those of other multi-millionaires. He recruits Warlord, Natalie, Maggie and Steff along with a trained gorilla, a probability-altering alien, a stockbroker whose work of art proved to be much more than he'd bargained for, a marketing officer who can create psionic forcefields, a teleporting member of the landed gentry, and a socially awkward fixer. This is Combat Team Beta.
Steff never talks about his time with the Orbs, until he finds a woman who lived through it, too. Steff believes he has finally found happiness, but it is destined to be short-lived. He is left with an unusual legacy which he and Team Beta struggle to comprehend; including why something out there seems determined to destroy it.
No comments:
Post a Comment