and, on the outside, by a line of pleasant boulevards planted with trees. A precipitous rock rises from the river s edge ; and from its summit the cathedral of Notre Dame des Doms, a building of the 12th century, looks down on the city, but is almost thrown into insignificance by the Palace of the Popes, which rises by its side, and
[ Map ]
stretches in sombre grandeur along the southern slope. This building, or congeries of buildings, was commenced by Benedict XII. in 1336, and continued by successive popes for sixty years. It covers an area of rather more than 1| acres. The paintings with which it was profusely adorned are in great measure destroyed, and even the grandeur of its dismantled interiors was for a long time broken in upon by the carpentry and plaster-work of French barracks. A restoration has, however, been for some time in progress ; and the building will again be appropriated for ecclesiastical and civic purposes. The churches of St Agricol, St Didier, and St Pierre may be mentioned as of some importance ; also the papal mint, now known as a music academy; the town-hall, built in 1862; the Calvet museum, rich in Roman remains ; the Requien museum of natural history; and the Hotel des Invalides. Of the church of the Cordeliers, in which Petrarch s Laura was buried, only a small part is standing, and the tomb itself has been entirely destroyed. The city is the seat of an archbishop, and has tribunals of primary jurisdiction and commerce, a royal college, a theological seminary, a society of arts, the Vaucluse academy, a public library, a theatre, &c. The chief object of industry is the preparation of silk and the manufacture of silk goods; there are also manufactures of paper, leather, hats, jewellery, iron-ware &c. Avignon is remarkably subject to violent winds, of which the most disastrous is the mistral ; and, according to the proverb, Avenio ventosa, sine vento venenosa, cum vento fastidiosa (windy Avignon, liable to plague when it has not the wind, and plagued with the wind when it has it). The town was a place of some importance in the times of Roman supremacy, and seems to have had some special connection with the Greek colony at Massilia. It was incorporated with the Burgundian kingdom, and on its dissolution became a free republic, after the Italian type. As late, indeed, as 1790, it retained its consuls, though its republican constitution was really destroyed by Charles of Anjou. From 1309, when Clement V. took up his abode in the city, to 1377, when Gregory XI. returned to Rome, Avignon was the seat of the papal court, and it continued from 1378 to 1418 to be the seat of French anti-popes. In 1348 it was purchased by Pope Clement VI. from Joanna of Sicily for the sum of 80,000 florins, and it remained in possession of the popes till the French Revolution. Popula tion in 1872, 38,196.
AVILA, a province of Spain, one of the modern
divisions of the kingdom of Old Castile, situated between
long. 4 14 and 5 55 W., and lat. 40 48 and 41 18 N.
It is bounded on the N. by Valladolid, E. by Segovia and
Madrid, S. by Toledo and Caceres, and W. by Salamanca.
The area is 2570 square miles; population, 176,769. It
naturally divides itself into two sections, differing com
pletely in soil, climate, productions, and social economy. The
northern portion is generally level; the soil is of indifferent
quality, strong and marly in a few places, but rocky in
all the valleys of the Sierra de Avila ; and the climate
alternates from severe cold in winter to extreme heat in
summer. The population of this part is agricultural. The
southern division is one mass of rugged granitic sierras, inter
spersed, however, with sheltered and well-watered valleys,
abounding with rich vegetation. The winter here, especially
in the elevated region of the Paramera and the waste lands
of Avila, is long and severe, but the climate is not unhealthy.
The inhabitants are occupied in the rearing of cattle. The
principal mountain chains are the Guadarrama, separating
this province from Madrid ; the Sierras de Avila, a con
tinuation of them westward; the Sierra de Gredos, running
from the south of Piedrahita through Barco, Arenos, and
part of Cebreros ; and the Paramera, stretching southwards
from the city of Avila into Arenas and Cebreros. The
various ridges which ramify from the latter are covered
with wood, presenting a striking contrast to the bare peaks
of the Sierra de Gredos, and the barren levels in which
they rise on the north. The principal rivers are the
Alberche and Tietar, belonging to the basin of the Tagus,
and the Tonnes, the Corneja, and the Adaja, belonging to
that of the Douro. The mountains contain silver, copper,
iron, lead, and coal, but their mineral wealth has been
exaggerated, and the actual production is absolutely nil.
Quarries of fine marble and jasper exist in the district of
Arenas. The province has declined in wealth and popula
tion during the last two centuries, a result due less to tho
want of activity on the part of the inhabitants than to the
oppressive manorial and feudal rights and the strict laws
of entail and mortmain, which have acted as barriers to
improvement. The principal production is the wool of the
Merino sheep, which at one time yielded an immense
revenue. Game is plentiful, and the rivers abound in fish,
specially trout. Olives, chestnuts, and grapes are grown,
and the culture of silk-worms is also carried on. There is
little trade, and the manufactures are few, consisting
chiefly of copper utensils, lime, soap, cloth, paper, combs,
&c. The state of elementary education is comparatively
good, and the ratio of crime is proportionately low (Madoz,
Diccionario de Espana).
Avila (the ancient Alula), a city of Spain, the capital of the above province, is situated on the right bank of the Adaja, about 3000 feet above the sea-level, at the termina tion of the Guadarrama Mountains. " On all sides," says a recent traveller, " the town is surrounded by a tawny desert, over whose arid plains numbers of gray boulders are scattered like flocks of sheep." Its ancient wall is stili in good preservation, crowned by a breastwork, with towers of great strength ; but a large part of the town lies beyond the circuit. Avila is the seat of a bishop suffragan to
Santiago, and has a Gothic cathedral, built by Garcia
