Whilst the hill was probably climbed in prehistoric times, the first recorded ascent was by Jean Buridan who, on his way to the papal court in Avignon before the year 1334, climbed Mont Ventoux in order to make some meteorological observations. The Italian poet Petrarch wrote a possibly fictional account of an ascent accompanied by his brother on 26 April 1336, in his Ascent of Mont Ventoux. In the 15th century, a chapel was constructed on the top and dedicated to the Holy Cross.