Avignon: A Broken Bridge and 2 Popes.

Is there anyone who doesn’t have a childhood memory of the famous nursery rhyme?

Sur le Pont d'Avignon
L'on y danse, l'on y danse
Sur le Pont d'Avignon
L'on y danse tous en rond

Well that bridge is still there, still broken and still a huge part of Avignon history. Constructed as a toll bridge to make the owners rich, it was destroyed in one of the frequent floods and was never repaired.

Back in the day, a schism in the Catholic Church resulted in two Popes vying for power. The French pope contender set up shop here in Avignon and his Italian rival pitched up in what is now the Vatican. We all know how that worked out for the French

Rumours that an itinerant French walnut farmer from the Tarn region who recently passed through Avignon and fixed the bridge are falseRead more