Musee du Petit Palais

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The Musée du Petit Palais is a historically significant building turned art gallery, featuring a collection of paintings and sculptures of the Italian Renaissance and the Avignon school.

Nestled in the corner of the Place du Palais beside Avignon’s main attraction, the Palais des Papes, the Musée du Petit Palais is a museum and art gallery with a focus on painters of the Avignon school and Italian Renaissance painters. The building was originally constructed in 1318, during the reign of the Popes in Avignon, by Cardinal Bérenger Fredoli the Elder. During the Western Schism, the building was all but destroyed, but it was restored in the late 15th century by Pope Julius II. The building became a museum in 1976, and its most famous works include Sandro Botticelli’s Madonna with Child (1467) and Vittore Carpaccio’s Sacred Conversation (1460-65).

Though a relatively small museum, there is a collection of over 1000 works in its permanent collection, including Avignonnais sculpture from as early as the 12^thcentury, which make this charming museum more than worth visiting during your time in Avignon. Be sure to glance out of the windows as you walk around, as there is a spectacular view of the Pont Saint-Bénézet and the neighbouring town of Villeneuve-lès-Avignon across the Rhône river.