Carpentras

Carpentras (kaʁpɑ̃tʁa, formerly kaʁpɑ̃tʁas; Provençal Occitan: Carpentràs in classical norm or Carpentras in Mistralian norm; Carpentoracte) is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. As capital of the Comtat Venaissin, it was frequently the residence of the Avignon popes; the Papal States retained possession of the Venaissin until the French Revolution. Nowadays, Carpentras is a commercial center for Comtat Venaissin and is famous for the black truffle markets held from winter to early spring. Carpentras briefly held France's all-time high-temperature record, during the heatwave of June 2019. Carpentras was a commercial site used by Greek merchants in ancient times, and known to Romans at first as Carpentoracte Meminorum, mentioned by Pliny, then renamed Forum Neronis ("Forum of Nero"); the city retains an impressive Roman triumphal arch, that has been enclosed by the bishops' palace, rebuilt in 1640, now a law court, and a machicolated city gate, the Porte d'Orange. For the history of the bishopric of Carpentras, see Ancient Diocese of Carpentras. At the beginning of the Avignon Papacy, Pope Clement V took up residence, along with the Roman Curia, in Carpentras in 1313. His successor, Pope John XXII, settled definitively at Avignon. Joseph-Dominique d'Inguimbert, Bishop of Carpentras from 1735 to 1754, established a great scholarly library which Jean-François Delmas, the chief librarian as of 2009, has called "the oldest of our municipal libraries"; known as the Bibliothèque Inguimbertine and now holding around 140,000 books, it is known to bibliophiles all over France and is scheduled to move into roomier quarters in the former Hôtel-Dieu in 2013. Until 1791, Carpentras was part of the Papal States, not of the Kingdom of France. Like most communities across France, Carpentras played a role in the 1789-1799 French Revolution, particularly during the rule of the French Directory.