Where in the World is Sharon Daugherty2: Pont d'Avignon

We finally got a day without the wind to go visit and dance on the Pont d'Avignon (bridge).

We actually did this little outing before Christmas, but had no time to publish as we were off on our French Riviera adventure. Now that we are ready to leave Avignon, I decided to go ahead and publish this beautiful day in Avignon.

We got our little self guided listening device and climbed the steps to the tower that leads to the bridge.

In the middle of what remains of the bridge is the chapel in the tower.

The bargemen on the river Rhone came here for services. It also served as shelter for travelers crossing the bridge to Avignon. If they arrived after the city gates were closed for the night, they sheltered in the chapel until morning when the gates re-opened.

There are actually two chapels in the tower. The top chapel (late 14th century) is dedicated to Saint Nicolas, the Patron Saint of Bargemen.

and the lower chapel is dedicated to the shepherd Benezet who inspired the bridge.

In 1177, a young shepherd named Benezet came down from the mountains of the Ardeche. He said he was sent by God to build a bridge in Avignon.

At first, people took him for a madman, but he had heard a voice from heaven telling him : "Bénézet, take your crook and go to Avignon, the capital by the water : you will speak to the inhabitants and you will tell them that a bridge must be built".

One Sunday holiday, while the bishop of Avignon gave his blessing on the square in front of Notre-Dame, Bénézet called to him : "Lord Bishop, I have been commissioned by the Almighty to build a bridge across the Rhône"...

Mocked by the Avignonnais, the shepherd was challenged by the prelate to take an enormous stone on his shoulders and throw it into the Rhône. Bénézet doesn't hesitate an instant, and watched by the amazed crowd, picked up the stone block and threw it into the water, helped, they say, by divine intervention, and even by angels bathed in golden light.

This beautiful legend of Saint Bénézet was passed down through popular beliefs, for the building of the bridge represented a challenge against the elements. The Saint Bénézet bridge is the oldest work constructed on the Rhône, between Lyon and the sea, in the 12th century.

Looking back toward Avignon