The name of this city means “New City across from Avignon”. While it may not seem brand spanking new to most of us, it is certainly new in comparison to Avignon itself, which has been there since Phocaean times at least, that would be since 500 or 600 B.C. Villeneuve Read More …

Fort Saint-André is a well-preserved example of fourteenth-century military architecture. It is located on the top of Mont Andaon, the highest hill in Villeneuve lez Avignon, which it shares with the Abbey Saint-André. Construction of the fort was begun on orders of the French King Philippe le Bel (1270-1314) and Read More …

In 1999 the owners of the site of the Abbey Saint-André celebrated the one thousandth anniversary of the founding of the abbey, since 999 was the year the abbey was officially recognized and approved by the Pope Grégoire V. Actually the abbey was founded somewhat earlier than that, since it Read More …

Near the entrance to Fort Saint-André I saw a sign for pedestrians pointing to “Chartreuse 15 min.” — which surprised me because the Chartreuse I knew was a mountainous region near Grenoble, over two hundred kilometers north of Villeneuve lez Avignon. I also knew ‘Chartreuse’ as a sticky-sweet liqueur that Read More …

When I first saw a sign pointing to the “Colline des Mourgues” I thought it meant The Hill of the Morgues — but of course that was only a silly Anglophone mistake. There isn’t any morgue on this hill, not even a cemetery. Even the so-called “Tomb of the Hermit” Read More …

On a guided tour of Avignon a few days earlier, I had learned that in the fourteenth century the word livrée had a special meaning in Avignon and especially in Villeneuve lez Avignon. Back then, a livrée or livrée cardinalice was an elaborate residence, more like a palace, for one Read More …