“Sur le Pont d’Avignon”
The Avignon bridge, under its original name of Saint Benezet bridge, became famous due to the popular 16th century song. Today the song remains popular as well as its source of inspiration, the bridge, which is a landmark of Avignon along with its neighbor the Palais des Papes.
The legend of the bridge’s building is that a local shepherd, Benezet was inspired by angels to build a bridge. His appeals to the town authorities proved to be futile, so he picked up a block of stone and threw it into the river, to be the bridge’s foundation stone. Convinced by this demonstration of divine will, the bridge was swiftly built.
Originally, the bridge had 22 arches, reaching across to the tower of Philippe le Bel via the mid-stream ile de la Barthelasse. Today, only 4 of the 22 arches remain.
The well-known song “Sur Le Pont D’Avignon” (on the bridge at Avignon) refers to the Saint Benezet bridge. The bridge itself is far too narrow for dancing or festivals, the original text of the song being "Sous (under) le pont d’Avignon", referring to the festivals and entertainments staged on the ile de la Barthelasse. The current version was popularized by a 19th century operetta, whose librettist clearly assumed that ‘sous le pont d’Avignon’ would have meant in the river.
