Architecture of Provence - Gothic Architecture in Provence (12th-14th Century)

Gothic Architecture in Provence (12th-14th Century)

The Gothic architecture style was invented in the middle of the 12th century with the facade of the Basilique Saint-Denis in Paris, and spread rapidly to England and Germany, but did not arrive in Provence until the late 13th century.

The first purely gothic church in Provence was the Basilica Sainte Marie-Madeleine in Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume, which was begun in 1295. It was built to contain what was believed to be the sarcophagus of Mary Magdalene, which was discovered in a Gallo-Roman crypt in Saint-Maximin in 1279. The basilica was consecrated in 1316, but the Black Death in 1348, which killed half the local population, interrupted construction. Work started again in 1404, and the sixth bay of the nave was completed in 1412. Work continued until 1532, when it was decided to leave the basilica just as it was, with an unfinished west front, and neither a portal nor bell towers. The church today has a main apse flanked by two subsidiary apses. The nave has no transept, and is flanked by sixteen chapels in the aisles. In the crypt is displayed what is said to be the skull of St. Mary Magdalene.

In other parts of Provence, romanesque churches were made into gothic churches. In Aix-en-Provence, two new wings of the transept of Aix Cathedral were built in the gothic style between 1285-1230 and the cathedral was turned bay by bay into gothic church. paralleled the growth of importance of Aix. In Arles, a Gothic choir replaced the Romaneque abside of the Church of St. Trophime between 1445 and 1465.

The finest gothic building in Provence, and the largest gothic structure in Europe, was the Palace of the Popes in Avignon, constructed between 1334 and 1364, during the brief period from 1309 to 1377 when Avignon was the seat of the papal curia. It was one of the largest and most important buildings in Europe. Construction was begun by Pope Benedict XIII, and continued by his successors. The construction of the 10-acre (40,000 m2), heavily-fortified palace consumed most of the income of the papacy during this period. It served as the residence of two antipopes, Clement VII and Benedict XIII, before the papacy finally returned permanently to Rome.

While the outside of the palace looked like a fortress, the inside was lavishly decorated with tapestries, sculptures, and decorated wooden ceilings.

The pont d'Avignon, also known as the Pont Saint-Bénézet,which crossed the Rhone River between Avignon and Villeneuve became one of the wonders of the medieval world. The Romans had built a wooden bridge across the Rhone at the same point, which was replaced by a stone Romanesque bridge built between 1177 and 1185. That bridge, except for four arches, was swept away by a flood in 1226. A new bridge was constructed in the gothic style between 1234 and 1237, which was 900 meters long, resting on 22 arches. A chapel to Saint Nicholas, with two chapels, one romanesque and the other gothic, was located on the bridge fourth arch, where a toll was collected from voyagers, in the form of a donation to the Saint.

During the Middle Ages the Avignon bridge was the only bridge across the Rhone between Lyon and the mouth of the Rhone. It was also located on one of the main pilgrimage routes, between Italy and Saint-Jacques-Compostelle.

The bridge began to collapse in the 17th century; first one arch in 1603, then three more in 1605. These were repaired, but in 1669 a new flood carried away most of the bridge, leaving only four arches.