The Papal Palace in Avignon and its Urban Context

Dominating discussion on fourteenth-century Avignon, the Papal Palace is usually treated as a world in itself, thereby marginalising the medieval city. The questions the palace raises are held to be of an international rather than a local nature, and parallels are sought in places as distant as Paris, Rome and Mallorca. Yet, in fact, no precise models have ever been identified. This paper proposes adopting a local lens and to ask how the palace related to its urban context. Particular attention will be paid to the hitherto neglected churches built in Avignon and neighbouring Villeneuve in the same period, mainly commissioned by cardinals residing in the vicinity of the papal court. Seen in this light, the palace can be understood as responding to local needs more than international models.