Castellar, Alpes-Maritimes

Castellar is a hill village and commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department of south-eastern France, close to Menton, whose schools, doctors, pharmacies and hospital serve the commune. The name first appears on 19 January 1258 in a deed transferring the territory from the count of Ventimiglia to Charles I of Anjou, count of Provence. The first village, Vieux-Castellar, stood on a rocky spur north-east of the present site; once the threat of Saracen raids had eased, an agreement of 30 September 1435 let the lords Lascaris, of the family of the counts of Ventimiglia, move the village to the hillside of Saint-Sébastien and build twenty-nine houses of equal height within five years. The Palais Lascaris, begun in the early fifteenth century, was partly destroyed by the earthquake of 1564 and sold as national property in 1796; Jean-Paul Lascaris (1560-1657) was born there. The commune has been buying back its unoccupied parts since 1987 and has installed a cultural space with an exhibition on the Mesolithic site of the Pendimoun shelter. The church of Saint-Pierre belongs to the diocese of Nice. Olive growing and mixed farming are the local economy, with farm campsites and guest rooms, and in 2023 the commune had 996 inhabitants.