Avignon (, ; French: [aviɲɔ̃] ⓘ; Provençal: Avinhon (Classical norm) or Avignoun (Mistralian norm), IPA: [aviˈɲun]; Latin: Avenio) is the prefecture of the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southern France. Located on the left bank of the river Rhône, the commune has a population of 92,188 (2023), with about 16,000 (estimate from Avignon's municipal services) living in the ancient town centre enclosed by its medieval walls.
Between 1309 and 1377, during the Avignon Papacy, seven successive popes resided in Avignon and in 1348 Pope Clement VI bought the town from Joanna I of Naples. Papal control persisted until 1791 when during the French Revolution it became part of France. This is why Avignon is also known as La Cité des Papes ('The City of the Popes').
The city is the capital of the Vaucluse department and is one of the constituent municipalities in the Vaucluse and the Gard of the urban agglomeration of Grand Avignon with a combined population of 199,932 (2023).
The historic centre is one of the few cities in France to have preserved its mediaeval city walls and includes the Palais des Papes, Avignon Cathedral and the Pont d'Avignon. Due to its architectural and cultural importance during the 14th and 15th centuries, it was listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 1995. The medieval monuments and the annual Festival d'Avignon – one of the world's largest festivals for performing arts – have helped to make the town a major centre for tourism.
Toponymy
The earliest forms of the name were reported by the Greeks: Аὐενιὼν Aueniṑn (Stephen of Byzantium, Strabo, IV, 1, 11) and Άουεννίων Aouenníōn (Ptolemy II, x).
The Roman name Avennĭo Cavărum (Mela, II, 575, Pliny III, 36), i.e. "Avignon of Cavares", accurately shows that Avignon was one of the three cities of the Celtic-Ligurian tribe of Cavares, along with Cavaillon and Orange.
The current name dates to a pre-Indo-European or pre-Latin theme ab-ên with the suffix -i-ōn(e). This theme would be a hydronym—i.e. a name linked to the river (Rhône), but perhaps also an oronym of terrain (the Rocher des Doms).
The Auenion of the 1st century BC was Latinized to Avennĭo (or Avēnĭo), -ōnis in the 1st century and is written Avinhon in classic Occitan spelling or Avignoun in Mistralian spelling. The inhabitants of the commune are called avinhonencs or avignounen in both standard Occitan and Provençal dialect.
Geography
Avignon is on the left bank of the Rhône river, a few kilometres above its confluence with the Durance, about 580 km (360 mi) south-east of Paris, 229 km (142 mi) south of Lyon and 85 km (53 mi) north-north-west of Marseille. On the west it shares a border with the department of Gard and the communes of Villeneuve-lès-Avignon and Les Angles and to the south it borders the department of Bouches-du-Rhône and the communes of Barbentane, Rognonas, Châteaurenard, and Noves.
The city is in the vicinity of Orange (north), Carpentras (north-east), Salon-de-Provence, Aix-en-Provence, Marseille (all south-east), Arles (south), Nîmes and Montpellier (both south-west). Directly contiguous to the east and north are the communes of Caumont-sur-Durance, Morières-lès-Avignon, Le Pontet, and Sorgues.
Geology and terrain
The region around Avignon is very rich in limestone which is used for building material. For example, the current city walls, measuring 4,330 metres long, were built with the soft limestone abundant in the region called mollasse burdigalienne.
Enclosed by the city walls, the Rocher des Doms is a limestone elevation of Urgonian type, 35 metres high (and therefore safe from flooding of the Rhone which it overlooks) and is the original core of the city. Several limestone massifs are present around the commune (the Massif des Angles, Villeneuve-lès-Avignon, Alpilles...) and they are partly the result of the oceanisation of the Ligurian-Provençal basin following the migration of the Sardo-Corsican block.
The other significant elevation in the commune is the Montfavet Hill—a wooded hill in the east of the commune.
The Rhone Valley is an old alluvial zone: loose deposits cover much of the ground. It consists of sandy alluvium more or less coloured with pebbles consisting mainly of siliceous rocks. The islands in the Rhone, such as the Île de la Barthelasse, were created by the accumulation of alluvial deposits and also by human intervention. The relief is quite low despite the creation of mounds allowing local protection from flooding.
In the land around the city there are clay, silt, sand, and limestone present.
Hydrography
The Rhone passes the western edge of the city, but is divided into two branches: the Petit Rhône, or "dead arm", for the part that passes next to Avignon and the Grand Rhône, or "live arm", for the western channel which passes Villeneuve-lès-Avignon in the Gard department. The two branches are separated by an island, the Île de la Barthelasse. The southernmost tip of the Île de la Barthelasse once formed of a separated island, the L'Île de Piot.
The banks of the Rhone and the Île de la Barthelasse are often subject to flooding during autumn and March. The publication Floods in France since the 6th century until today – research and documentation by Maurice Champion tells about a number of them (until 1862, the flood of 1856 was one of the largest, which destroyed part of the walls). They have never really stopped as shown by the floods in 1943–1944 and again on 23 January 1955 and remain important today—such as the floods of 2 December 2003. As a result, a new risk mapping has been developed.
The Durance flows along the southern boundary of the commune into the Rhone and marks the departmental boundary with Bouches-du-Rhône. It is a river that is considered "capricious" and once feared for its floods (it was once called the "3rd scourge of Provence" as well as for its low water: the Durance has both Alpine and Mediterranean morphology which is unusual.
There are many natural and artificial water lakes in the commune such as the Lake of Saint-Chamand east of the city.
Artificial diversions
There have been many diversions throughout the course of history, such as feeding the moat surrounding Avignon or irrigating crops.
In the 10th century part of the waters from the Sorgue d'Entraigues were diverted and today pass under the walls to enter the city. (See Sorgue). This watercourse is called the Vaucluse Canal but Avignon people still call it the Sorgue or Sorguette. It is visible in the city in the Rue des teinturiers (street of dyers). It fed the moat around the first defensive walls then fed the moat on the newer eastern city walls (14th century). In the 13th century (under an Act signed in 1229) part of the waters of the Durance were diverted to increase the water available for the moats starting from Bonpas. This river was later called the Durançole. The Durançole fed the western moats of the city and was also used to irrigate crops at Montfavet. In the city, these streams are often hidden beneath the streets and houses and are currently used to collect sewerage.
The Hospital Canal (joining the Durançole) and the Crillon Canal (1775) were dug to irrigate the territories of Montfavet, Pontet, and Vedène. They were divided into numerous "fioles" or "filioles" (in Provençal filhòlas or fiolo). Similarly, to irrigate the gardens of the wealthy south of Avignon, the Puy Canal was dug (1808). All of these canals took their water from the Durance. These canals were initially used to flood the land, which was very stony, to fertilize them by deposition of silt.
All of these canals have been used to operate many mills.
Seismicity
Under the new seismic zoning of France defined in Decree No. 2010-1255 of 22 October 2010 concerning the delimitation of the seismicity of the French territory and which entered into force on 1 May 2011, Avignon is located in an area of moderate seismicity. The previous zoning is shown below for reference.
"The cantons of Bonnieux, Apt, Cadenet, Cavaillon, and Pertuis are classified in zone Ib (low risk). All other cantons the Vaucluse department, including Avignon, are classified Ia (very low risk). This zoning is for exceptional seismicity resulting in the destruction of buildings."
The presence of faults in the limestone substrate shows that significant tectonic shift has caused earthquakes in different geological ages. The last major earthquake of significant magnitude was on 11 June 1909. It left a visible trace in the centre of the city since the bell tower of the Augustinians, which is surmounted by an ancient campanile of wrought iron, located in Rue Carreterie, remained slightly leaning as a result of this earthquake.
Climate
Avignon has a hot-summer mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification: Csa), though the dry-summer effect is not as strong as coastal locations like Marseille due to its more sheltered inland location. The city experiences mild-cool winters and hot summers, with moderate rainfall year-round. The city is often subject to windy weather; the strongest wind is the mistral. A medieval Latin proverb said of the city: Avenie ventosa, sine vento venenosa, cum vento fastidiosa (Windy Avignon, pest-ridden when there is no wind, wind-pestered when there is).
The record temperature record since the existence of the weather station at Orange is 42.8 °C on 28 June 2019 and the record lowest was −14.5 °C on 2 February 1956.
The mistral
The prevailing wind is the mistral for which the windspeed can be beyond 110 km/h. It blows between 120 and 160 days per year with an average speed of 90 km/h in gusts. The following table shows the different speeds of the mistral recorded by Orange and Carpentras Serres stations in the southern Rhone valley and its frequency in 2006. Normal corresponds to the average of the last 53 years from Orange weather reports and that of the last 42 at Carpentras.
Legend: "=" same as normal; "+" higher than normal; "-" lower than normal
Administration
Avignon is the prefecture (capital) of Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur region. It forms the core of the Grand Avignon metropolitan area (communauté d'agglomération), which comprises 15 communes on both sides of the river:
- Les Angles, Pujaut, Rochefort-du-Gard, Sauveterre, Saze and Villeneuve-lès-Avignon in the Gard département;
- Avignon, Caumont-sur-Durance, Entraigues-sur-la-Sorgue, Jonquerettes, Morières-lès-Avignon, Le Pontet, Saint-Saturnin-lès-Avignon, Vedène and Velleron in the Vaucluse département.
List of mayors
List of successive mayors
Twin towns – sister cities
Avignon is twinned with:
- Colchester, United Kingdom since 1972
- Guanajuato, Mexico since 1990
- Diourbel, Senegal since 1961
- New Haven, Connecticut, USA since 1993
- Siena, Italy since 1981
- Tarragona, Spain since 1968
- Tortosa, Spain since 1968
- Wetzlar, Germany since 1960
Evolution of the borders of the commune
Avignon absorbed Montfavet between 1790 and 1794 then ceded Morières-lès-Avignon in 1870 and Le Pontet in 1925. On 16 May 2007 the commune of Les Angles in Gard ceded 13 hectares to Avignon.
Area and population
The city of Avignon has an area of 64.78 km2 and a population of 92,078 inhabitants in 2010 and is ranked as follows:
Economy
Avignon is the seat of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Vaucluse which manages the Avignon–Caumont Airport and the Avignon-Le Pontet Docks.
Avignon has 7,000 businesses, 1,550 associations, 1,764 shops, and 1,305 service providers. The urban area has one of the largest catchment areas in Europe with more than 300,000 square metres of retail space and 469 m2 per thousand population against 270 on average in France. The commercial area of Avignon Nord is one of the largest in Europe.
The tertiary sector is by far the most dynamic in the department, driven largely by Vaucluse's significant production of early fruits and vegetables. The MIN (Market of National Importance) has become the pivotal hub of commercial activity in the department, taking precedence over other local markets (including that of Carpentras).
A Sensitive urban zone was created for companies wanting to relocate with exemptions from tax and social issues. It is located south of Avignon between the city walls and the Durance located in the districts of Croix Rouge, Monclar, Saint-Chamand, and La Rocade.
Areas of economic activity
There are nine main areas of economic activity in Avignon.
The Courtine area is the largest with nearly 300 businesses (of which roughly half are service establishments, one third are shops, and the rest related to industry) and more than 3,600 jobs. The site covers an area of 300 hectares and is located south-west of the city at the TGV railway station.
Then comes the Fontcouverte area with a hundred establishments representing a thousand jobs. It is, however, more oriented towards shops than the Courtine area.
The MIN area of Avignon is the Agroparc area (or "Technopole Agroparc"). The Cristole area is contiguous and both have a little less than a hundred establishments.
Finally, the areas of Castelette, Croix de Noves, Realpanier, and the airport each have fewer than 25 establishments spread between service activities and shops. The area of the Castelette alone represents more than 600 jobs—i.e. 100 more than Cristole.