Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The general alms of Avignon originated at the end of the 15th century, when the city council established a charitable institution for the needy. Only in 1610 did the institution settle in the present building, designed to house men and women separately, with a wing reserved for women called "bad lives". The chapel and wing, named La Galère, were destroyed in 1890 when the site was transformed.

In 1796, during the Revolution, the institution was renamed hospice of the indigent according to the law of 7 October. In the 19th century, the building radically changed its vocation: bought by the city in 1845, it became the passenger barracks, housing military troops passing through. This military function ceased in 1890, when the school of fine arts in Avignon settled there until 1998, when it was sold by the municipality.

Architecturally, the "U"-shaped building dates back to the early 17th century, with an arcade façade and wings redesigned by architects Jean-Baptiste Franque and his son Jean-Pierre. Only the facades and roofs, protected since 1956, remain today, bearing witness to its charitable, military and cultural past. The current address, 21bis rue des Lices, preserves the memory of this versatile building, owned by the commune.

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