![[Sainte-MAXIME ]](../photo/logomaxime.gif){kind=small}
HISTORY OF THE TOWN
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Built due south and sheltered from the winds by the last foothills
of the range of the Maures mountains, Sainte-Maxime is an ideal place to stay, due to its
exceptional location. The Phocaeans installed a trading post on that site, "Calidianisi", to receive the wine, oil, olives as well as various minerals. "Calidianisi" maintained the prosperity of the region during the decline of the Romans. In the VIIth c., the Gulf of Saint-Tropez (Sinus Sambracitanus) was occupied by the Saracens who settled mainly in Freixinet (La Garde-Freinet). |
Defeated by Guillaume of Provence, the Saracens left the country in 972. To avoid being invaded the local inhabitants had taken refuge on hilltops (Gassin, Ramatuelle, Cogolin, Grimaud as well as the Vieux Revest). The buccaneers were followed by armed gangs who plundered the countryside for centuries. The only remains of that era is the seigneurial tower (known today as the Tour Carrée) which was built by the monks of Lérins to be used as a court of law. The fire of its canons together with that of those of the Tour de Portalet of Saint-Tropez ensured the protection of the Gulf waters.
When peace was re-established, some fishing villages settled on the seashore. It was no doubt at that time, around the year 1000 that SAINTE-MAXIME was founded. The name of SAINTE-MAXIME is probably owed to the monks of Lérins who evangelized the inhabitants and gave the name of their order’s saint to the village that was being founded. According to the legend, Maxime was the daughter of the Count of Grasse, the lord of Antibes. Having taken her vows at the Saint-Cassien monastery, she very quickly became a model to her community. It is no doubt for this reason that she was chosen to head the Monastery of Caillan, where she died. The votive festival of Sainte-Maxime takes place on May 15, the day of the anniversary of her death. It is only in the XVIIIth c. that the small port of Sainte-Maxime assumed its commercial activities, when a fleet of sailing boats was used to transport wood, cork, olive oil and wine to Marseilles and Italy.
Since the end of the XIXth c. the town has gone on growing by attracting poets, writers and painters, due to the mildness of its climate and the beauty of its site,.
Today, Sainte-Maxime, with its magnificent promenade, its long beaches in the centre as well as the outskirts of town, its matchless stretch of water suitable for all water sports, enjoys an exceptional activity and dynamism to satisfy the most demanding holiday-makers.
