About this place
The Petit Palais closes off the northern end of the Place du Palais, facing the great fortress of the popes across the square. Built around 1318 as the grand residence of Cardinal Bérenger Frédol the Elder, it was later acquired by the papacy and became the palace of the archbishops of Avignon, remaining one of the city's most important addresses for centuries. Since 1976 it has housed a museum famous for its gold ground primitives, panels of the late Middle Ages and the early Renaissance that glow against shimmering backgrounds of beaten gold. Around three hundred and fifty of these Italian works, drawn largely from the collection of the nineteenth century Roman collector the Marquis Campana and lent by the Louvre, hang here alongside paintings of the local Avignon school and an early masterpiece by a young Botticelli.
Key facts
- 1318 year — Begun as a cardinal's residence during the Avignon papacy
- 1976 year — Opened to the public as the Musée du Petit Palais
- 350 paintings — Italian primitives from the Campana collection on display
📍 Rue Ferruce, 84000, Avignon