« Once upon a time there was a handsome old stone village shaped like a boat. Its name in Provençal was Sant Paou.»
André Verdet.

During the second half of the Middle Ages, the region was governed by the Counts of Provence. Two in particular were to mark the history of our village: Count Raymond Béranger V at the beginning of the 13th century and Countess Jeanne I of Anjou in the 15th century.

When Raymond Béranger married Douce, he became Count Raymond Béranger I of Provence and brought castrum Saint-Paul out of its bleakest days.

In 1227, Raymond Béranger V, Count of Provence, granted privileges and communal franchises and created a market. Saint-Paul became a city of notables.

Jeanne I, Countess of Provence, Queen of Naples, granted Saint-Paul the right to use the waters of the Malvan.

Legend would have it that this Queen enjoyed a romantic idyll with a page named Aubépin (hawthorn in English), whom she is said to have found stabbed to death one day. Since then, the spot is marked by a hawthorn bush bearing red blooms.

During her reign, Provence and Saint- Paul were hit by the plague.

When the Queen died, Saint-Paul capitulated and joined the House of Anjou.

In 1418, a deed signed by Louis III recognised Saint-Paul as a "Royal City" because of its military and administrative significance and its direct dependency on the Count-King.

Prepared by Louis XI and King René, the union between Provence and France was proclaimed on 15 January 1482. Which is when Saint-Paul became French.

In the Renaissance period, relentless attacks by Charles Quint incited François I to build modern ramparts around Saint-Paul. He appointed François de Mandon from Saint-Rémy to oversee the project. The consequences of construction work on the inhabitants were in some cases dramatic: many houses were demolished and the inhabitants had to move out to neighbouring villages.

The fortifications were abandoned at the end of the Empire. However, in 1832, a committee of military engineers decided to restore them. When Saint-Paul was demilitarised in 1870, the ramparts were sold off at auction. The mayor of the commune, deeming the fortifications of public importance, negotiated with the French government to save them from demolition. In 1872, the commune bought the ramparts for 400 Francs!

Imposing ramparts rear out of the Provençal countryside. Glowing in the Mediterranean light they structure a prestigious village that gradually, with the increasing popularity of the French Riviera, proved irresistible to artists and tourists. Major plus points that accentuated the development of the French Riviera included new communications channels (such as the tramway), the weather and the setting, particularly the exceptional luminosity.

The environment and the light inspired many an artist.

Les remparts (© J. Gomot)

1920: a host of painters, founders of the 20^th-century schools, flocked to Saint-Paul: Matisse, Soutine, Chagall, Renoir, Signac, Modigliani, Dufy… not to mention writers including Gide, Giono, Cocteau and Prévert. Later, it was the turn of film directors and scriptwriters: Clouzot, Cayatte, Audiard… and French and international stars: Yves Montand, Lino Ventura, Simone Signoret, Romy Schneider, Roger Moore, Tony Curtis…

Artists mainly stayed at the hotel "Le Robinson" managed by Paul Roux (today known as the "Colombe d'Or") or the "Pergola" and then "La Résidence" run by Ferdinand Issert (today's "Café de la Place").

In July 1964, the Fondation Maeght was inaugurated by André Malraux. It was the joint creation of Aimé and Marguerite Maeght and artists including Giacometti, Chagall, Miró and Calder.