Back to towns in France
Avignon is definitely not a town to stay in if you're interested in sightseeing the surrounding countryside and don't have much time. Once in Avignon, you won't want to leave, and the town is too interesting to let you go. Avignon is ancient, full of history, life, youth, art, music and activity. Just to "see" the town itself, you could wander the narrow streets inside the fortified walls for days without tiring of them.
The rock of Avignon seems to have been inhabited since the earliest times; situated at the junction of the Rhone and the Durance rivers, its perfect location makes it an ideal city for a natural refuge, easy to defend and ideal for commercial traffic. Avignon therefore quickly becomes a prosperous city enjoying certain autonomy. During the Fourteenth Century, the city belongs to the Count of Provence, Charles the Second of Anjou, King of Naples and loyal vassal of the Church of Rome. The Venaissin County located near Avignon has been, since the Thirteenth Century, a papal property thereby insuring a stable and peaceful city. At this time in Rome, as rival factions are tearing each other apart, popes do not have any governing control, and in Italy, cities and small feudal states are in constant conflicts. Avignon appears to be the ideal city to welcome the future popes. 7 popes in all will eventually succeed one another in Avignon, making it the capital of the Christian world.
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