Scenery of Southern France~Avignon

Avignon is a city in southeastern France. It is an important thoroughfare connecting northern and southern France. It travels by land between Italy (Apennine Peninsula) and Spain (Iberian Peninsula). It also has to pass through Avignon, so Avignon is also an important town on the east-west transportation line in southern France (sounds a lot like our Xuzhou). Due to its strategic location, Avignon has been a prosperous place since ancient Roman times.

But what makes Avignon world-famous is not only its geographical importance, but also its religious reasons. Every Catholic believer knows that their religion is in the Vatican. But all believers may not know that there is another religious capital on the banks of the Royo River in southern France, and it is Avignon.

Its origins can be traced back to 13 At the end of the century, the fierce struggle between the political and religious factions in Rome directly threatened the safety of the Pope. Philip IV With the support and arrangement of In 1309, the Pope Clement V The Pope decided to move from Rome to Avignon. As the Pope moved there, the believers regarded Avignon as a holy place for pilgrimage.

We took a small tour bus to visit Avignon. The bus first went around the perimeter of the Papal Palace.

The Papal Palace looks very quaint. It overlooks the city, its surrounding walls and the remaining bridges spanning the Rhone from the 12th century. In 60-70 years, a total of 7 popes lived here. In order to show the pope's holy spirit and majesty, the Papal Palace was built on the rocky mountain.

Then the tour bus tours Avignon along the city wall, including the ancient city wall surrounding the city, and the Benezer Bridge across the Rhone River left over from the 12th century. According to legend, 800Many years ago, 15 year-old shepherd boy Beneze was inspired by the gods and decided to build a bridge over the Rhone River. He alone moved a boulder that could not be lifted by more than a dozen people to the river and determined the location for the bridge. Under his leadership, the local people finally completed the bridge after 8 years.

For a long time, this bridge was the only one in the lower Rhone River, and it was a delight for pilgrims and business people traveling between Spain and Italy. 900 Domi, yes twenty two The arch is a masterpiece of medieval European architecture. There is an old song "On the Bridge of Avignon" that goes: “ People dancing in a circle on the Avignon bridge People dancing in a circle on the Avignon bridge ..." This song made the bridge famous. However, after its completion, the bridge was washed away by floods many times and was rebuilt many times until it was finally built. 17 In the 18th century, people decided to abandon this effort. Today, the Benezet Bridge is the only remaining 4 Standing on the Broken Bridge in the Rhone River and looking around, you can better appreciate the vicissitudes of the ancient city. The Broken Bridge has also become a scenic spot in Avignon.

 

When we went there, it was just before the opening of the Avignon Art Festival. The Avignon Art Festival was founded in 1947. It is the longest and most influential art festival in France one. It is held every July and August in the city of Avignon. The founder of the festival isFrench theaterdirector JeanThirard. The purpose is to promote the recovery and development of post-war culture and art. Villard worked hard to free drama from the shackles of "high art" and regarded drama as "the drama of French citizens". The distinctive feature of the Avignon Arts Festival is its insistence on the path of innovation. Thanks to their efforts, the festival's reputation is growing day by day and its influence is expanding.

 

There are theater posters posted everywhere on the street, some of which are Chinese. I often see theater actors on the street. Some have dressed up, and some are handing out posters on the street. The whole city exudes a strong artistic atmosphere. I took many pictures. When the photo was posted on Weibo, my friend Thea said, "You are a young and literary person, you are in your rightful place." Whether I am a literary person or not is another matter. The key is that I am no longer a young person.

From Avignon, go to Gordes (Gordes), also known as the Stone City. It is said to be the prototype of the City in the Sky. The entire town is nestled in the middle of the mountain,. The village is made up of sun-washed white stone buildings and deep and shallow green plants . Every year it is selected as one of the most beautiful small towns in France. The most beautiful place in the town can only be seen from a distance, but this is a not-so-wide road with cars coming and going. I jumped out of the car and took pictures while chasing the car. Fortunately, I took two pictures. When I came back, there were police standing here, so I would definitely not dare to get out of the car.

From the outside to the inside, the impression given to the town of Gold is that of stone buildings, walls, houses, and churches, almost all made of stones. Its streets are all paved with stone slabs, and most of the houses are almost completely preserved from the 16 century and are still as solid as ever.

Senanque Abbey is located in the north of the town of Stone Town. 2 Kilometers , Distance from Avignon 20 km, it is composed of Mazan The monks of the monastery built 1148 In 1915, the entire monastery was hidden in a quiet valley, which is also the background of the story of the book "Mountain Life". “ The most beautiful valley in France ” Most of the postcards are taken here.

Senanque Abbey is one of the three famous Zisterzienser (Zisterzienser) monasteries in Provence. Zisterzienser is a very strict traditional sect. The monks live a life of poverty and simplicity in accordance with strict rules. In life, they have been carefully cultivating this beautiful lavender field. The flower language of lavender is "waiting for love". This seems to have nothing to do with the monastery far away from the world and the monks who isolate themselves from love. It is probably that they are really just waiting in their hearts. Come on.

There is actually a large sea of ​​lavender flowers in front of the monastery, but most of it is isolated with barbed wire. It is said that in the early years, Japanese tourists often went to take pictures in the sea of ​​flowers and trampled the flowers and plants, so they were enclosed; but now a small flower path is left in front of the door. , everyone can take pictures here, but there are really many people.

The lavender in the monastery did not bring surprises, but now that we have arrived in Provence, are we still afraid that we will not see lavender? We saw large tracts of lavender on the road, and we were finally free to take pictures.