Date

Circa 1910

Roman Catholic cathedral in Valence, Drôme, dedicated to Saint Apollinaris of Valence (ca. 423-520). It is the seat of the Bishop of Valence. It was on the pilgrim route to Santiago de Compostela. The cathedral, which has an interesting apse and ambulatory, was rebuilt in the 11th century in the Romanesque style of Auvergne and consecrated in 1095 by Pope Urban II. Several blocks of stone of the cathedral are reused from Gallo-Roman constructions of the Roman city of Valentia and have Latin inscriptions. It suffered extensive damage in the French Wars of Religion, but it was restored in the first decade of the 17th century. The porch and the stone tower above it were rebuilt in 1861 (by Antoine-Nicolas-Louis Bailly). The church contains the monument of Pius VI, who died at Valence in 1799.