The Palace of the Popes in Avignon is the largest Gothic building in Europe that was the residence of the papal sovereigns in the fourteenth century.
Its immense size gives an idea of the power of the Catholic Church during the Middle Ages.
The Palace is actually an impregnable fortress for the popes who took refuge here fleeing the tensions of Rome.
In fact, some construction details are clearly defensive, such as the battlements that border the building or the loopholes to throw boiling oil on enemies or even the soaring towers from which to watch over the entire area below.
The palace has been built, enlarged and modified many times, according to the needs of the Popes who have succeeded it.
In reality, it consists of two adjacent buildings, for a total of 25 rooms used for different purposes and a series of courtyards, cloisters, reception rooms and chapels.
The structure consists of the Oldest Palace, dating back to 1335, characterized by the Pope’s Tower that overlooks the city like a defensive keep and the Palazzo Nuovo, with the papal apartments, the Chapelle Clementine, a long room of 52 meters and the Grande Chapelle.
The interiors of the complex have not preserved the original furnishings and are quite bare.
Palais des Papes can be visited with a HistoPad digital tablet that reveals, thanks to virtual reality, the appearance that the various rooms must have had in the heyday of papal splendor.
