Origin and history
A cardinal's livery was a palace raised in Avignon to welcome a cardinal and his suite during the period when the papacy resided in the city in the 14th century. These residences, initially simple bourgeois houses requisitioned by the papal administration, were gradually transformed into real palaces. Their name libratae comes from the fact that they were "delivered" to the princes of the Church, i.e. made available to them by the papacy. Over time, the cardinals bought these houses to enlarge and embellish them, while retaining the term "delivery", which had become unsuitable.
The liveries were arranged with a great concern for appearance, reflecting the prestige of their occupants. They generally included a reception room (a dressing room), a feast room (tinel), a work room (studium), private rooms, a chapel and galleries organized around a meadow or cloister. A second court often housed servants' houses, stables and outbuildings. Outside, these residences imitated the defensive aspect of the Pope's palace, with towers symbolizing power, and were protected by stone or wood fences. The secondary residences, located in the countryside, had various names such as bastides, hotels or palaces, except when they were convents.
Among the most remarkable liveries of Avignon, the livery of Albano (place de l'Horloge) was occupied by five cardinals, including Étienne Aubert, future Pope Innocent VI. Its tower, built by Audoin Aubert in 1363, retains an exceptional decor: a golden starry vault on a night blue background, walls painted with oriental motifs and an inscription in enigmatic characters. The chapel on the second floor, with green tiles, combines symbols of the evangelists and portrait of Innocent VI. Turned into a town hall in the 15th century, it once housed municipal archives.
Ceccano's livery (near Saint-Didier Square) is distinguished by its slotted tower, begun by Pierre d'Arrablay and completed by Annibal de Ceccano. Its three levels conserve heraldic decorations, friezes of five leaves and partial frescoes. The livery of Canillac, with its so-called Officiality tower (1356), served as the headquarters of the popes' palace (1398–1411). Its remains include armored warheads and a painted ceiling, while its chapel was the scene of a military episode where a bombardment fired on the palace.
Other deliveries, such as that of the Puits de Saunerie, housed notable figures, including the future antipap Clement VII (Robert de Genève) and Pope Benedict XII (Jacques Fournier). Their tower, still visible on Carnot Street, was built by Guillaume de la Saunerie in 1336. The livery of the Puy, near the archdiocese, revealed in 1969 frescoes and a painted ceiling of 30 meters, decorated for an aborted reception of Benedict XII and Philip VI of Valois in 1336. These discoveries illustrate the splendour of decors, often inspired by hunting or heraldic motifs, designed to impress the brand hosts.
In Villeneuve-lès-Avignon, located in the kingdom of France, the term "delivered" is inappropriate: historians prefer to speak of hotels or palaces, because these houses were built by the cardinals themselves, such as the palace d'Annibal de Ceccano (now the Pierre-de-Luxembourg museum). These residences, often surrounded by gardens, contrast with the more urban and fortified Avignonnais liveries. Their crossed destiny, like that of the liveries of Ceccano and Venice in Avignon, reflects alliances and rivalries within the Sacred College.
Over the centuries, many deliveries were transformed: some became colleges (such as the livery of Poitiers, converted into Collège du Roure), others from museums (Petit Palais, Musée Calvet). Their architectural heritage, despite the destruction and renovations, remains a unique testimony of the parish life of Avignon, where spiritual power, diplomacy and refined art of living were mixed. Their study also reveals the tensions between the papacy and local lords, such as Raimond de Turenne, whose anger against Clement VII was triggered by the confiscation of the hotel of Turenne for the benefit of Thury's livery.
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