Saint-Bénézet Bridge

Begun in 1177 and finished in 1185 - legend gives it to the shepherd Bénézet - the bridge crossed the Rhône on twenty-two arches over 920 metres. The river took it away piece by piece: two arches in 1479, four between 1603 and 1605, two more in 1633 despite a rebuilding in 1628, until the flood of 1669, after which it was left as it fell. Four arches remain, held to the left bank, and on one of the piers the two-storey chapel, Saint-Bénézet below, Saint-Nicolas above. Listed as a historic monument in 1840 and inscribed on the World Heritage list in 1995. What is left of it is seen head-on, from both banks, and from above, from the ramparts.

Two viewpoints, so two readings to hold together. Head-on, it is the void that counts: the underside of the arches is hollowed with shadow so the stone seems carried rather than laid. Seen from above, the structure reveals its thickness through a slight shift in tone between the facing and the deck, which allows it to recover its original section. The chapel, the only vertical left in the fragment, stays the brightest point.

Also in Avignon: the Palais des Papes.