"For more than 450 years Avignon was under the rule of the Church. It was "Roma Gallica" that is the Rome of France as you it was written in the medallion under the portrait of Clemens VI the most important Pope who lived in Avignon. The Palais des Papes, was built originally as a fortress as the tower shows and later on under Clemens VI (coats of arms on the fa�ade) gained a more graceful aspect. The Palace lost all its furniture and statues and served as a barrack."

Visited in 1994