En un regard
Le château en bref
The Château du Castellet, now in ruins, stands on a rocky knoll at an altitude of 706 metres, in the commune of Saint-Jeannet (Alpes-Maritimes), above agricultural terraces. The site is first mentioned in 1250 in the will of Romée de Villeneuve, first baron of Vence, who bequeathed to his son Paul the lordship of La Gaude, of Saint-Jeannet and of Le Castellet, as well as the co-lordship of Vence; the place is still documented in 1309. The remains preserve an enclosure wall, buttresses and corner turrets characteristic of a fortified medieval castle. The site was later reused as a sheepfold, of which a well-preserved vault survives, while Renaissance-style window frames testify to a remodelling at a later period. The 1833 land register designates the property, then made up of a sheepfold, stable, courtyard, pastures, cultivated land, woods and vineyards, under the name "château du Castellet", belonging to Frédéric Euzière. Occupied until the Second World War, the building served as a refuge for maquis fighters before being blown up by German troops. In 1938, the discovery of a vase containing gold coins and ingots in a wall had fed the local legends attached to the site.
