Avignon - Porte Université Remparts

Avignon (, ; ; oc, Avinhon, label=Provençal or , ; la, Avenio) is the prefecture of the Vaucluse in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of Southeastern France. Located on the left bank of the river Rhône, the commune had a population of 93,671 as of the census results of 2017, with about 16,000 (estimate from Avignon's municipal services) living in the ancient town centre enclosed by its medieval walls. It is France's 35th largest metropolitan area according to INSEE with 336,135 inhabitants (2019), and France's 13th largest urban unit with 458,828 inhabitants (2019). Its urban area was the fastest-growing in France from 1999 until 2010 with an increase of 76% of its population and an area increase of 136%. The Communauté d'agglomération du Grand Avignon, a cooperation structure of 16 communes, had 192,785 inhabitants in 2018.

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. The city is now the capital of the Vaucluse department and one of the few French cities to have preserved its city walls.

The historic centre, which includes the Palais des Papes, the cathedral and the Pont d'Avignon, became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995 because of its architecture and importance during the 14th and 15th centuries. The medieval monuments and the annual Festival d'Avignon (commonly called: "Festival In d'Avignon") and its accompanying Festival Off 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: ''Aueniṑn'' (Stephen of Byzantium, Strabo, IV, 1, 11) and ''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.

History

Geography

Avignon is on the left bank of the Rhône river, a few kilometres above its confluence with the Durance and north-north-west of Marseille. On the west it shares a border with the department of Gard 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), Nîmes, Montpellier (south-west), Arles (to the south), Salon-de-Provence, and Marseille (south-east). 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''.Relief and Geology of the Avignon sector
Agence Rosier website (archived)

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 the work of man. 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. 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. With mild-cool winters and hot summers, with moderate rainfall year-round. July and August are the hottest months with average daily maximum temperatures of around 28 °C, and January and February the coldest with average daily maximum temperatures of around 9 °C. The wettest month is September, with a rain average of 102 millimetres, and the driest month is July, when the monthly average rainfall is 37 millimetres. 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).

According to Météo-France the number of days per year with rain above 2.5 litres per square metre is 45 and the amount of water, rain and snow combined is 660 litres per square metre. Average temperatures vary between 0 and 30 °C depending on the season. The record temperature record since the existence of the weather station at Orange is 40.7 °C on 26 July 1983 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.

Demographics

In 2017, the commune had 91,921 inhabitants.

Administration

Avignon is the ''prefecture'' (capital) of Vaucluse'' 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, Entraigues-sur-la-Sorgue, Jonquerettes, Morières-lès-Avignon, Le Pontet, Saint-Saturnin-lès-Avignon, Vedène and Velleron in the Vaucluse '.

List of mayors

List of successive mayors

;Mayors from 1940

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

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