Rue Obscure, Villefranche-sur-Mer, France

The Rue Obscure or “Dark Street” is a passage way under the harbour front houses which dates back to 1260.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Villefranche-sur-Mer#Other public 'buildings'

The Rue Obscure has seen a long and turbulent history through its adjacent stairwells.

The site of what is now Villefranche and surrounding Beaulieu-sur-Mer and Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat has been settled since prehistoric times. Celto-ligurian tribes roamed the area and established farming communities on the surrounding hills. The Greeks and later the Romans used the natural harbour as a stop-over en route to the Greek settlements around the Western Mediterranean. After the conquest of Gaul by Julius Caesar, the Romans built an extension of the Via Aurelia (Aurelian Way), which passed through the settlement of Montolivo.

By the fall of the Carolingian Empire, the area was part of Lotharingia and later part of the County of Provence. In 1295, Charles II, Duke of Anjou, then Count of Provence, enticed the inhabitants of Montolivo and surroundings to settle closer to the coastline in order to secure the area from pirates. By charter, he established Villefranche as a “free port” thus the name, granting tax privileges and port fee rights that lasted well into the 18th century.

By 1388, East Provence became part of the Duchy of Savoy as a result of the disputed succession to the heirless Queen Joan I of Naples. For the next 400 years, the area known as the County of Nice was hotly disputed between the Holy Roman Empire to which Savoy was an ally and the French.

In 1543, the Franco-Turkish armies sacked and occupied the city after the siege of Nice, prompting Duke Emmanuel Philibert to secure the site by building an impressive citadel and a fort on nearby Mont Alban. In the late 17th century, the area fell to the French but was returned to Savoy after the Peace of Utrecht.

During the 18th century, the city lost some of its maritime importance to the new harbour being built in Nice but remained a military and naval base. In 1744, a Franco-Spanish army under the Prince of Conti overran the Piedmontese regiments of Charles Emmanuel III of Sardinia at the Fort of Mont Alban in the heights above the town.

In 1793, the French returned to re-occupy Villefranche and the county of Nice remained part of the Napoleonic Empire until 1814. It was returned to the Kingdom of Sardinia by the Congress of Vienna.

In 1860, as a consequence of the Risorgimento, it was given to France by treaty following a plebiscite.

By the late 19th century it had become an important Russian Navy base and the Russians established an oceanographic laboratory in the old lazaret. The site was also the winter residence for royalties and wealthy visitors. Villefranche's bay is notable for reaching a significant depth only a short distance from shore. As a result it has become an important port over the years. Since World War I, the United States Navy has called on a regular basis, making Villefranche the home port of the U.S. 6th Fleet from 1948 to 1966. Since the 1980s Villefranche has been used by cruise ships. It is the most visited cruise ship port of call in France.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Villefranche-sur-Mer#History

Taken in: Italia / Piemonte (show map)

Taken on: August 8, 2010

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