Top Ten French Gothic Cathedrals
The Gothic style originated in France; the Ile de France and Picardy are dotted with fine cathedrals.These ten cathedrals represent the heights of the Gothic style. But warning; if you get addicted, you’re going to want to search out the others too – Sens and Senlis, Soissons, Noyon, Mantes… you might [...]
To get away from political unrest in Rome at the turn of the 14th century, Pope Clement V temporarily moved the papacy from Rome to Avignon, a papal territory on the Rhone River. The papal court requiring housing, built a palace.
Between 1309 and 1378, seven popes ruled at Avignon, bringing tremendous wealth and prestige to [...]
Are you going on holiday to France? Perhaps you’ll want to do some sightseeing and admire some of France’s rich architectural heritage. Here we’ve highlighted the main styles of architecture to appear in France throughout history.
Gallo-Roman French Architecture
With the exception of some Neolithic caves, the first period of architecture to take hold in France comes [...]
Some of the greatest and most enduring accomplishments and advances of the Renaissance were in architecture and the fine arts. The main emphasis of these areas was on humanity and human nature and as a result it was a conscious turn away from the otherworldly concerns of the Middle Ages.
Renaissance Replacement of Gothic Style Architecture
In [...]
French architecture of the early modern period is characterized by three main tendencies: the survival of Gothic technology and form, the influence of Italian and ancient models of classicism, and the effort to form a strong French architectural language. Political and social overtones varied in the Renaissance, with ancient and Italian classical influences gradually merging [...]
