A little history of Saint-Tropez harbour
And also
The tops
Our story began with the old Heraclea Caccabaria, an important harbour. The little city was named after a temple dedicated to Hercules.
But the current name comes from a saint martyr from Pisa, Italy: Tropez or Torpès. The primitive city was destroyed by Saracens, then rebuilt.
But... bad luck: pirates from Africa plundered it in the 9th century! Now the Moors ruled other the coast: the city started to trade with African coasts. But count of Arles Guillaume I didn’t like this situation... he besieged the city in 973 and reduced the Moors to slavery.
In the 14th century, Charles de Duras and duke of Anjou fought over the town. Meanwhile Saint-Tropez was suffering and went to ruin!
King René asked families from Genoa to move here in order to repopulate the area, in 1470. They re-raised surrounding walls, took up again trading...
But wars soon reopened, in the 16th century: pirates, duke of Savoy, emperor Charles the Fifth besieged our city, which also resisted to Spain, for 2 centuries!
Last great achievement: in June 1637, Saint-Tropez forced 20 Spanish boats to retreat, after a siege attempt! Since this day, people celebrate this event every year, in May: the famous fêtes de la Bravade.