Lynn Konrad
The
Château d'If is a fortress (later a prison) located on the island of If, the smallest island in the
Frioul Archipelago situated in the
Mediterranean Sea about a mile offshore in the Bay of
Marseille in southeastern France. It is famous for being one of the settings of
Alexandre Dumas' adventure novel
The Count of Monte Cristo.
Fortress
The "château" is a square, three-story building 28 m long on each side, flanked by three towers with large gun embrasures. It was built in 1524-31 on the orders of King Francis I,
who, during a visit in 1516, saw the island as a strategically
important location for defending the coastline from sea-based attacks.[2]
However, its construction was extremely controversial. When Marseille
was annexed to France in 1481, it retained the right to provide for its
own defence. The castle was therefore seen by many of the local
inhabitants as an unwanted imposition of central authority.
The castle's principal military value was as a deterrent; it never
had to fight off an actual attack. The closest that it came to a genuine
test of strength was in July 1531, when the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V made preparations to attack Marseille. However, he abandoned the invasion plan, perhaps deterred by the presence of the castle.
The cell named after
Edmond Dantès at the Château d'If
LONGCHAMPS
The
Palais Longchamp is a monument in the 4th
arrondissement of
Marseille,
France. It houses the city's
musée des beaux-arts and
natural history museum. The surrounding park (the
Parc Longchamp) is listed by the French Ministry of Culture as one of the
Notable Gardens of France.
