Hôtel de Ville - Town Hall (Avignon)

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In 1447 the councils of Avignon bought the Gothic Livrée d’Albane from the Benedictines of Saint-Laurent with the intention of making it into a public building and transforming the tower into a belfry. It wasn’t until the nineteenth century that the regional council decided to provide the city with a genuine Hôtel de Ville (City Hall). The city’s architect, Joseph-Auguste Joffroy drew up the plans. To brighten the facade the architect Feuchères contribued a balcony supported by Corinthian columns and added peristyle columns.

This project was at the center of a larger debate pitting the municipality against one of the great defenders of the cultural integrity of buildings, Esprit Requien, who was supported by Prosper Mérimée. www.avignon.fr/en/visites/visite2en.php