St. Tropez owes its name to Caius Silvius Tropetius, born in Pisa and converted to Catholicism by St. Paul.
In the 15th century, King René created the Barony of Grimaud for his chamberlain Jean de Cossa. To secure the gulf, he fortified St. Tropez .
At the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century, artists like Signac, Picabia and Matisse arrived. Movements like pointillism, Nabi and fauvism were launched.
In the 60s, Brigitte Bardot was at the height of her fame, lending all her glamour to the town of St. Tropez.
St. Tropez owes its name to Caius Silvius Tropetius, born in Pisa and converted to Catholicism by St. Paul. He made a profession of faith to Nero, who ordered his death and threw him to the lions.
But the lions layed down before him and did not devour him. He was tied up on a column to be whipped, but the column broke. It was decided that he should be decapitated on April 29. His head was placed in a boat at the mouth of the Arno, and the boat washed ashore in the year 68 at the site of St. Tropez. The head of this Saint was conserved in the chapel of Pisa. Some inhabitants of St. Tropez make a pilgrimage there every year on the 29th day of April.
At that time, the St. Tropez peninsula was already inhabited by the Romans. They constructed villas there.
The region underwent the same turmoil that struck Provence, and it wasn’t until the liberation of William that the Counts of Marseille received the lands of the St. Tropez region in gratitude for their support.
In turn, they accorded many lands to the St. Victor Abbey of Marseille which began to survey this region.
In the 15th century, King René created the Barony of Grimaud for his chamberlain Jean de Cossa. To secure the gulf, he fortified St. Tropez and negotiated the settlement of about sixty Genoese families with Raphael Garezzio di Pornassio. These residents, from St. Maxime to St. Tropez, were Frankish people, and were exempted from paying any tax.
The city conserves fragments of these defensive fortifications, like the coastal towers of the Portalet and the Suffren Tower on Garezzio Square.
Constructed in the 16th century, the Notre Dame de l’Annunciation Chapel today houses a museum where paintings by Signac, Bonnard, Matisse, Derain, Braque and Seurat can be admired.
The citadel was constructed in the 17th century and was refurbished in the 19th century. It is a testament to the dynamic spirit of the city of St. Tropez and its inhabitants, businessmen and navigators in the 17th century. One of the most illustrious was Pierre-André de Suffren whose statue graces the old port.
At the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century, artists like Signac, Picabia and Matisse arrived. Movements like pointillism, Nabi and fauvism were launched. Along the same lines, Picasso visited the village with his companion Genevieve, coming to see Paul Eluard who had an apartment on the port at the time. Picasso created the painting “The Odalisque” at the time.
In the 60s, Brigitte Bardot was at the height of her fame, lending all her glamour to the town of St. Tropez. Her villa was located in the La Madrague. From his helicopter, Gunther Sachs rained down rose petals before asking her to marry him. She immortalized this place by singing “La Madrague.”
St. Tropez became at that point an extremely exclusive locale where all the celebrities came to spend their holidays.
Saint-Paul, village of artists
