Dusk over the Pont d'Avignon (Pont Saint-Benezet) and the city of Avignon in the department of Vaucluse on the left bank of the Rhone River. it was the residence of the popes during their exile from Rome. Between 1309 and 1377, seven successive popes resided in Avignon and in 1348 Pope Clement VI bought the town from Joanna I of Naples. Papal control persisted until 1791 when, during the French Revolution, it became a part of France. The historic centre, which includes the Palais des Papes, the cathedral, and the Pont d'Avignon, became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995.