Saint Maxime

Sainte-Maxime is a Resort town in the Var department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in Southeastern France. It is located on the French Riviera (Côte d'Azur), 90 km (56 mi) west from Nice and 130 km (81 mi) east from Marseille. Its inhabitants are called Maximois or Maximoises in French. The town faces southward on the northern shore of the Gulf of Saint-Tropez. In the north the Massif des Maures mountain range protects it from the cold winds of the mistral. It is the seat of the canton of Sainte-Maxime. Sainte-Maxime was founded around 1000 AD by monks from the Lérins Islands outside Cannes. They built a monastery and named the village after Saint Maxime. Fishing was the economic mainstay for the inhabitants but during the early 19th century increasing amounts of lumber, cork, olive oil and wine were shipped to Marseille and Italy. The village grew and in the 20th century began to attract artists, poets and writers who enjoyed the climate, beautiful surroundings and azure blue water. In front of the old town is the characteristic tower, La Tour Carrée, built by the monks in the early 16th century to protect the village from invaders. With an addition of a battery of cannons and with the Tour du Portalet in Saint-Tropez the whole bay was protected. As late as in the beginning of the 19th century, Napoleon ordered a restoration of the battery while also adding cannons on the Lérins Islands. The tower is now a museum. On 15 August 1944, the beach of Sainte-Maxime was at the centre of Operation Dragoon, the invasion and liberation of Southern France during World War II. "Attack Force Delta", based around the 45th Division, landed at Sainte-Maxime. After fierce house-to-house fighting the Germans were defeated and eventually surrendered. By the foot of the Harbour pier and by La Garonette beach in the far east of the commune, memorials at the respective landing places honour the United States troops.