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Origin and history

The Collège Saint-Didier d'Avignon is an ancient Gothic church built in the middle of the 14th century, classified as a historical monument in 1983. It replaces a first church mentioned in 1008, but its origin dates back, according to tradition, to the seventh century under the impulse of Agricol d'Avignon. Its construction was initiated by Cardinal Bertrand de Deaux, whose will imposed its construction, validated by Pope Innocent VI in 1355.

The church was erected in three years and four months by a team of lapicides under the direction of Jaume Alasaud, master mason of Avignon, who had already worked on the Palais des Papes and the collegiate of Villeneuve-lès-Avignon. Consecrated in 1359, it embodies the Gothic Avignonnais, a style characteristic of the region during the papacy.

The college houses major works, including two paintings by Simon de Châlons and a bas-relief by Francesco Laurana, Le Portement de Croix (1478), commissioned by King René. The latter, in Renaissance style, is considered one of the first works of this movement in France. The building, owned by the commune, has been protected for its architecture and murals since 1983.

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