Located right in the center of town, a stone's throw from the Aubanel printing museum, the Place Saint Pierre, cobbled with shingle stones, is the church square for the parish church that bears the same name.
Saint-Pierre had been rebuilt in 1385, thanks to a donation from the Cardinal Pierre de Près. Unfortunately we cannot enter and admire the panelling, the altarpiece, the pulpit or the paintings, one of which is the "Adoration of the Shepherds" by Simon de Chalons. But its façade, in flamboyant Provençal Gothic, is the most embellished of all of Avignon's churches and its doors alone merit a look.
In solid walnut, 4 metres high, they open into the only nave of the church. The pier that separates the two doors has a remarkable sculpted canopy under which stands a lovely virgin with child attributed to Jean Péru.
Michel Lopis, a rich merchant, paid for the doors of Saint-Pierre. Antoine Volard, "woodworker", a native of the Dauphiné, was hired to build them, for "60 gold crowns with the king's hallmark ".
Each leaf of the doors has two porticos, with figures in relief under an arch in three dimensions.
Gothic façade of the Saint Pierre Church in Avignon
Inside the Basilica Saint-Pierre in Avignon
19th century Choir carpet
Great organ of Saint-Pierre's Basilica, by Théodore Puget, 1863
Detail of the monumental doors of Basilica, 1551
The Entombment of the Galliens family, 1431
Relics of blessed cardinal Pierre de Luxembourg - Stained glass windows of the Basilica
Basilique Saint Pierre - Place Saint Pierre - 84000 Avignon
Where to sleep?
Maison Chenet, Entre Vigne et Garrigue
165 EUR/night*
Bed and breakfast - Avignon and the surroundings
