Synagogue in Avignon

It dates from 1150 and was enlarged in the 14th and 17th centuries by side chapels. As early as 1336, Giacomo Stefaneschi, the Cardinal of St. George, commissioned Simone Martini - the most Gothic of Italian painters, considered the leader of the School of Siena - to paint frescos on the porch of Notre-Dame-des-Doms. Martini, who was Duccio de Buoninsegna's pupil, comes with his wife Giovanna and brother Donat. The frescoes were completed before the death of the commissioner in 1343. Under Benedict XIII, Avignon was under siege. Despite the surveillance to which he was subjected, the Pontiff managed to leave the palace and his town of residence on March 11, 1403, after a trying five-year siege. If Benedict XIII never returned to Avignon again, he had left his nephews, Antonio de Luna as rector of the Comtat Venaissin, and Rodrigo. He and his Catalans settled in the pontifical palace. On Tuesday, January 27, 1405, at Vespers time, the pyramidal bell tower of Notre-Dame des Doms collapsed and crushed the ancient baptistery dedicated to Saint John in its fall. The Catalans were accused of this action and took the opportunity to establish a platform on these ruins to install their artillery.

The ancient abbey of Saint-Roman is located on an elevated site near the Rhône. The site was probably occupied by an eremitic community in the 5th century, which became Benedictine in the 7th century. The site became a centre of attraction for pilgrims thanks to the relics of Saint Roman and Saint Trophimus which were preserved there.

Built in the late middle ages to the 15th century the Synagogue in Cavaillon is one of the oldest French synagogues. The building was reconstructed between 1772 and 1774. The Synagogue was constructed in a rococo style with a mix of Jewish and Provençale culture.