Avignon, a ve nyoN', an old town of south-eastern France, capital of the department Vaucluse. It is an archbishop's see and has an ancient cathedral on a rock overlooking the town and an immense palace in which the popes resided, now used as barracks. Silk manufacture and the rearing of silkworms are the principal employments in the district. After its purchase by Pope Clement VI in 1348, Avignon and its district continued to be the property of the papal see till 1791, when it was formally united to the French Republic. Population, 41,007.