CASTLE & RAMPARTS

Description

The castle stood at the current location of Lascaris Palace, as attested by the fortified gate guarding the entrance of the rock.

The village, having later become a fortified town surrounded by a high and sturdy wall, with square, round, and semi-circular towers, arrow slits, and machicolation.

The ramparts were largely destroyed and were rebuilt in the 12th, 13th, and 14th centuries. A nice square tower and a round tower still stand on the northern end of the village, on the slope of Mont Castellet, and a section of rampart remains in Rue des Moulins. The ramparts can still be seen, partially, to the east and west of the Barma neighbourhood, also called “Lo Concas”.

Place Carnot was at the edge of the ramparts. The fortified gate at Arma was part of the enclosure and constituted the south entrance to the village, opening onto the bridle path leading to La Turbie, the only means of communication before the road of 1923.

A section of it was demolished to make way for the Peille – La Turbie road, and another by the landslide caused by the 15th century earthquake that also destroyed the castle.

The place is, to this day, called La Tour and the Barri neighbourhood.