Avignon (Aveaio), a city of Provence, capital of the French dep. of Vaucluse, on the left bank of the Phone, 75 miles NW. of Marseilles. With narrow, crooked streets, 'windy Avignon' still is encircled by lofty crenellated walls (1349-68), except on the north side, where the Rocher des Doms rises steeply from the Rhone to a height of 200 feet. Here is the cathedral, dating from the 11th century, with its papal throne; whilst hard by towers the vast palace of the popes (1339-61). The multitude of churches and convents made Rabelais call Avignon la ville son-nante, 'the city of bells;' and churches there still are in plenty, though that of the Cordeliers, with the tomb of Petrarch's Laura, was demolished in 1791. Near the hotel-de-ville (1862) are the quaint old Jacquemart belfry and a statue of Crillon, Henry IV.'s brave captain; Petrarch's statue (1874) may also be noticed. The university (1303) was abolished in 1794. Avignon has manufactures of paper, leather, silk, iron, etc. Pop. (declining) now about 34,000. Avignon was the capital of the ancient Cavares, and presents many remains of the times of the Romans. In the middle ages it formed, with the surrounding district, a county, which the popes bought in 1348. They held it till 1790, when the city with its district was united with France. Pope Clement V. and six of his successors from 1309 to 1378 resided here, as also did the French anti-popes (1378-1418). A little cottage was long the loved retreat of John Stuart Mill, the place where he died in 1873.