After the destruction of the Gallo-Roman town, the bishop built himself a castle on the summit of the hill on which the new town was erected. The chapel of the castle served as his cathedral till the fifteenth century, when the existing church of the new town was constructed in lieu of the chapel, which was found too small for the growing population.
The excursion to CARPENTRAS may be made by rail, and from that point the ancient architectural remains at Pernes and Venasque may be easily reached. At Carpentras, besides the Roman arch already described, the church of St Siffrein and the Gothic gateways of the town are well worth visiting.
VENASQUE contains a very ancient baptistery covered with a dome, and ornamented with marble columns and classic capitals. The whole structure is believed to belong to the Roman period.
At PERNES there is a church partly Romanesque and partly Gothic, with a cupola over the choir supported on pendentives, and a crypt of the eleventh century.
LE THOR, a small village about 12 miles east from Avignon on the road to Aix, contains, in the church of Ste-Marie-au-lac, a most interesting example of the mixture of Roman and Romanesque features in Provençal architecture. The nave consists of a single hall roofed with a tunnel vault, strengthened with transverse ribs, except the bay next the apse, which is covered with an octagonal dome, formerly surmounted by a belfry. The west façade and porch are very fine, and bear a striking resemblance in style to Notre Dame des Doms and St Gabriel.
CAVAILLON, besides its Roman remains, contains an interesting early church. It consists of a single nave finished with an apse, which is semi-circular within and hexagonal externally.
The original side aisles have been converted into chapels, and the pointed tunnel vault is carried on great piers, with twisted or fluted shafts in the angles towards the top (as at Aix and Arles).
Amidst the marshes, about half way between Cavaillon and St Remy, is found the small church of Molléges, formerly the chapel of a Cistertian monastery. The belfry of this church (Fig. 62) is cited by Viollet-le-Duc as a striking example of the influence of Roman monuments, such as that at St Remy, on the design of some of the Provençal steeples. It is certainly remarkable that this telling illustration should occur so near the original (see p. 49).