Jean Froissart, poet and contempory chronicler of the era, described the palace as "the most beautiful and biggest house in the world".
Since the Middle Ages, the richness and brilliance of the pontifical court has faded, but the palace remains, a superb fortress raising its imposing walls to the sky and testifying to the strength of the Supreme Pontiffs, whose power was as much temporal as spiritual.
It was built between 1335 and 1352, under the pontificates of Benedict XII and Clement VI. It is the largest gothic palace in the world.
