Jesus and saint Christopher | ©Véronique PAGNIER / CC-BY-SAThis small city in Vaucluse was named after 36 fountains raised here in the middle of the 18th century... A quiet city, which was in the Middle-Ages the capital city of the comtat Venaissin! Well, until 1320, in fact... because Carpentras upstaged it!
Anyway, Pernes owns a gem: this high square tower belonging to counts of Toulouse, raised by knights of Saint-John of Jerusalem. Come on, follow me! Inside, on the 3d floor, there’s a beautiful room decorated with frescos from the 13th century...
We can see knights fighting, especially a Moor against a Christian; a Virgin Mary; saints (look this tiny Jesus standing on a huge saint Christopher!) and many geometrical patterns.
In fact, those paintings deal with Southern Italy conquest by king of France saint Louis' brother, Charles I of Anjou... We can see Manfred near pope Clement IV. He was Emperor Frederic II’s son... master of Sicily!