Chapel of Saint Nicolas

Legend tells that Bénezet, a young shepherd, was sent by God to build a bridge across the Rhône. Mocked when telling his vision, the bishop challenged him to toss an enormous rock into the river. It is said he was assisted by angels surrounding him with golden light. The bridge was opened in 1184. A siege destroyed it in 1226. The new bridge was on one of the biggest pilgrimage routes in the Middle Ages—between Italy and Spain. Also, many cardinals lived in Villeneuve across the bridge from the Palace of the Popes in Avignon (the Holy Roman Empire). Pilgrims and popes stopped to pray and leave an offering in the two-story Saint Nicolas Chapel, built in the 15th and 16th centuries. The bridge finally collapsed in the 17th century and was not further repaired. Four of the original twenty-two arches remain.