Right next to the famous Palace of the Popes, you may climb the stairs to the welcoming terrace of Christian Etienne's restaurant. You will enter a building that has played an important part in many periods of the town's history.
This old palace is part of a monumental ensemble covering 1200 square meters, itself built on a rock outcrop that has been inhabited since prehistoric times. The dominating position of this hill, watching over a long stretch of the Rhone valley, destined it to be a place of power, and indeed much of the history of Avignon was played out on this hill.
The many artifacts and ruins found here attest to the presence of an important Roman city, and then, in the Middle Ages, the town's fortified palace was built here. After the fortress' fall during the 13th century, the palace was owned by the King of Naples, and it then became papal property after the purchase of the town by the Pope in the 14th century.
During the great rich period of the century-long presence of the Popes in Avignon, the structure that was to become much later Restaurant Christian Etienne, was built. Home of the Marshall of the Roman Court, it was a veritable princely palace, largely inspired by the many stately palaces of the Cardinals built in the city. The interior decoration, polychromatic paintings on the walls and ceilings, was especially rich.
In the 15th century, this palace became the house of a papal official, and then the seat of the judicial court responsible for fiscal matters of the Apostolic Chamber.
In 1892, when the papal properties became a part of the French territory, the house became the first town hall of the city of Avignon.
The old palace has retained many of its secrets, and much of its decoration is still visible on the walls and the ceilings of the Restaurant Christian Etienne.
Even though the house, still standing tall atop its rocky outcrop, is no longer a symbol of power, it has become one of beauty and of gourmet pleasure. Christian Etienne chose and restored this magical place with the same passion, the same enthusiasm and the same pleasure which he puts into creating his deliciously perfumed cooking! |
