Inside the Palais des Papes

Trip Start Feb 28, 2012
1
6
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Trip End Mar 12, 2012


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Flag of France  , Provence,
Saturday, March 3, 2012

Been to Avignon several times, but this was my first time inside the palace. It's mostly bare inside, but still worth the time.

The palace dates from the "Great Schism" (uh, the second one) of 1378-1417 when 2 clowns with funny hats simultaneously claimed to be the pope of the Catholic Church. The whole city, including the palace, was built to provide a nice, fortified spot for the "French" pope to hang out...even though this "second" pope only lasted for 40 years and all the nonsense went back to 1 pope in Rome.

It's a long story...but there hasn't been a French pope since, almost 600 years so far.


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