The remains of the Papal Palace and its gardens

I. The remains of the Papal Palace

Fifteen years before the Palais des Papes in Avignon, the Palais de Pont-de-Sorgues (former name of the city) was built from 1317 to 1324. The Gothic-style building with a surface area of more than 21,000 m² was commissioned by Pope John XXII who chose a quiet and cool location on the banks of the Sorgue but also for its geographical location to monitor the northern roads.

The construction

The cost of the work will amount to 30,000 pounds. Among the necessary materials were more than 400 trees, brought from Savoy by rafts on the Rhône. The most skilled artists are called upon to decorate the Palace with paint in the finest colors and gold (Approximately 5,000 gold leaves were used!). More than 10,000 painted terracotta tiles from Saint-Quentin la Poterie were created to cover the monument's floor. Tens of thousands of cut stones were installed to build the building and its fortifications, mobilizing around fifty stone cutters from several regions of France.

Who was staying there?

When the Palace was finished, the Popes stayed there from time to time, sometimes to rest, some made it their summer residences, or to receive distinguished guests: the King and Queen of Sicily, the Emperor of Bohemia and Germany, Charles IV of Germany, Charles IV of Luxembourg, Catherine de Medici and Charles IX and other big names. It is said that when a pope moved to the Palace, a real parade of carts accompanied him, he was followed by his court, the cardinals, the families, the guards and servants but also all the services, with therefore carts containing kitchen utensils, tablecloths, dishes, chapel ornaments, papal clothes and many other objects!

The damage caused to the building

Neglected at the beginning of the 15th century, the religious wars destroyed the building, almost entirely burned in 1562. The last occupants of the ruins of the castle were Louis XIV, the cardinal of Mazarin and d'Artagnan, commander of the King's musketeers before besieging Orange at the beginning of the 17th century. Definitely abandoned and the victim of yet another fire in 1799, the remains of the Palace were ceded by the city and exploited as a stone quarry by companies to build, among other things, the church of Plan-de-la-Tour.

 What can we see nowadays?

Some buildings are still standing today, such as the surrounding wall, which was reused as a home. In the ancient center, there are also a set of houses and remains from the 14th century (escutcheon, monumental chimney).

Many houses as well as the church in the tower plan are built with the ashlars of this palace!

II. The remains of the Papal Palace gardens

Built between 1322 and 1324 on an enclosed space of more than three hectares, the palace gardens aim to be a place of relaxation, pleasant and soothing on the banks of the river while remaining useful since the cooks cultivated all sorts of vegetables and aromatic plants. In the 14th century, gardens were considered very important places to live, to the point that some even considered them to be “earthly paradises”. The gardens were separated in some places by walls and fences, irrigation canals and small ditches spanned by bridges. You could find animals such as peacocks, deer and deer, they even sheltered a bear, and forty bulls for a while, but the most impressive was the introduction of a lioness that Pope Benedict XII had brought from Sicily to guard the Palace in 1344.

To discover the secrets of this Palace, go to the articles written by Les Études Sorguaises by clicking here and there! And about the pontifical garden of the Palais de Pont-de-Sorgues: click here!

Source: city of Sorgues. Archival illustrations (Fig. 1, 2, 6): www.etudessorguaises.fr