Château de La Penne

En un regard

Le château en bref

The Château de La Penne overlooks the village of the same name, in a strategic position commanding the entrance to the Var valley, in the Alpes-Maritimes. A first fortress occupied the neighbouring site of the Sainte-Marguerite ridge as early as 1079, then the seat of a lordship dependent on Thorame-Glandevès. The present castle, built on the site of the village, was in all likelihood founded in the early 13th century. The lordship then passed to several families: the Glandevès in the 11th–13th centuries, then the Authier family in the 17th century, and finally the Durand family from 1778, from whom the marquises Durand de la Penne descend. Of the medieval castle, only the keep survives today, converted into a dovecote and incorporated into the village buildings. The remains of the village's fortified enclosure still bear witness to the site's original defensive purpose.