The Palace of the Popes was the largest Gothic building of the Middle Ages. Pope Clement V moved the Papal Curia to Avignon in 1305 because of the chaos in Rome after he was elected Pope. Avignon was the seat of the papacy for 37 years. Nine Popes resided here and six papal conclaves were held here. Pope Gregory XI moved the papacy back to Rome in 1376. The palace was then occupied by antipope Clement VII until the papacy took control of the palace after the fall of the antipopes. However the palace lost its importance and later taken over by Napoleon French. It is a World Heritage site now
A model of the palace
A HistoPad to enable visitors to visualize the palace as it was
The Great Tinel where elections for the Pope was held
St Martial's Chapel
The North Sacristy
The Carrying of the Cross
A replica of the Tomb of Pope Gregory XI
The Grand Chapel where the popes worshipped
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