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From Mont-Saint-Michel to the Palais des Papes: excess and humanity
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by Jade Caillot
- June 25, 2024
- Events
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Dubai, 828 metres: that's the height of the Burj Khalifa tower. But also Shanghai, Shenzhen, Chicago, New York: touching the stars is part of the genetic code of a humanity fascinated by the sky and its mysteries. But this impulse towards something higher and greater than the human condition does not date back to the grandiose aspirations of the 21st century!
The continent of Europe, and France in particular, the eldest daughter of the Church, has sought answers to its mysteries in the secrets of its stones. In these so-called XXL sites, art and the sacred mingle and respond to each other around the fabulous geometry of the golden ratio. Discover the stories behind the history of venues exceptional world heritage sites. From Mont-Saint-Michel, to Fontevraud, to the Palace of the Popes, we tell you three venues of universal culture. Loc'Hall XXL: the excessiveness of faith.
Contents
Mont-Saint-Michel: the story of the archangel
The legend of Mont-Saint-Michel predates its construction by 300 years. Myth and faith experience come together to tell the story of the creation of a jewel of Western civilization.
The finger of God, the hand of man
Year 708: the Archangel Michael reveals himself in the mystical dreams of a churchman, Bishop Aubert. The messenger from heaven has chosen Mont-Tombe to build an oratory to his glory. A strange display of vanity from an archangel? In any case, the bishop complies, writing the first chapter in the history of a place of worship that will become one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world.
Some 300 years later, when the Order of St. Benedict took over the inhospitable island, they built the famous Romanesque abbey church. Mont-Saint-Michel was born.
Between sea and world
A place of pilgrimage for Christians the world over, Mont-Saint-Michel owes its renown to its exceptional geographical location. Between the sea and the world, towering skyward and overlooking the surrounding ocean, the imposing abbey radiates the austerity of a fortress: a feat of monastic architecture, the abbey of Mont-Saint-MichelToday, the Abbey of Mont-Saint-Michel, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, belongs to the whole of humanity.
Fontevraud: a love story for eternity
From the moment it was built, Fontevraud Abbey stood out as one of the most exceptional venues of its time.
A state-of-the-art vision
In 1101, the eccentric monk Robert d'Arbrissel set up a mixed community of monks and nuns in an Anjou valley. For the first few years, women and men of faith lived side by side under the same roof, much to the dismay of the Church. Robert was a fervent practitioner of a form of asceticism that advocated the chaste cohabitation of the sexes. Soon, however, the order splits up and joins the more orthodox canons.
But it was when the Plantagenets transformed the abbey into a dynastic necropolis that Notre-Dame de Fontevraud truly built its legend.
Eleanor and Richard, for eternity
In the sublime architecture of Europe's largest monastic city, four recumbent figures tell the story of two irreconcilable enemies: France and England. A legendary and ambiguous figure, Eleanor of Aquitaine was queen of two countries, wife of two kings and mother of ten children. At Fontevraud, she lies for eternity beside her beloved son, Richard the Lionheart, and her second husband, Henry II of England. And so, until death, Eleanor chose Albion.
The Palais des Papes: a history of power
Where does the Pope live? The answer is simple: in Rome. As head of state of a country within a country, the Vatican, the Pope seems indelibly linked to Italy. And yet, for almost a century and a half, one pope after another lived in a sublime residence: the Papal Palace.
A feat of construction
A feat, for the greatest Gothic palace of the Middle Ages was completed in seventeen years. Palais Vieux, Palais Neuf, two popes shared authorship: first Benedict XII, then Clement VI, his successor. But why did the popes stop off in Provence, making Notre-Dame des Doms the papal residence we can visit today?
Enchanted interlude or sublime golden prison?
Papal residence, monastery, place of intrigue and power, fortress? The Palais des Papes is all these things at once.
When Clement V decided to settle in Avignon, long before construction of the future papal residence began, he was following an established tradition: surprisingly, a number of his predecessors had already shunned Rome. Nine popes would reside in Avignon, including two schismatic popes, the "anti-popes", in rebellion against the power of Rome.
Wars, Italian revolts, royal pressure and tactical negotiations: the Palais des Papes was in turn a refuge and a golden prison for French popes who were both guardians of heaven and hostages of the king. Their legacy is one of the finest testimonies to Europe's Christian history.
The Palais des Papes today
Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Palais des Papes is now a monument open to visitors who are captivated by the splendor of its spectacular Grand Audience and Conclave rooms, or the majestic charm of the Benedict XII Cloister. In 2023, it welcomed 774,325 visitors, won over by an exceptional building in the mild climate of Avignon.
Mont-Saint-Michel, Fontevraud, Palais des Papes:
Three monuments to the glory of all mankind. Three exceptional venues in the Loc'Hall collection. Three legends. Unattainable? No. Because these spaces of unprecedented modernity don't just tell the story: they tell your story.
It's hard to imagine that these witnesses to humanity can be privatized for contemporary business events. And yet... In these sites steeped in fervor, the air you breathe alone is enough to transport you.
A corporate retreat in the grounds of Fontevraud Abbey will bring your teams back to basics: "and you, who would you spend eternity with; who would you trust, against all the evidence?"
Why choose Mont-Saint-Michel for a summit business meeting? Perhaps, quite simply, to create in the souls of your business guests a space conducive to meditation, for the duration of an exclusive concert in an incomparable setting. After all, isn't believing in your inner voice, like Bishop Aubert, one of an entrepreneur's greatest strengths?
A cocktail in the cloister of the Palais des Papes? Charm, grandeur and Provencal charm: a combination that kept nine popes in Avignon. Treat your guests to a wild dance just a stone's throw from the legendary bridge.
Today, all these venues large-format buildings, steeped in a sense of history, and so many others that seem inaccessible to us, are open to privatization for unforgettable events at your fingertips. Browse through the Loc'Hall catalog, and discover venues exceptional cultural and heritage sites. And trust us to find the XXL venue that suits you, for an event as big as your dreams!
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