Fort Royal, Cannes

The Fort Royal, located on Sainte-Marguerite Island-the largest of the Lérins Islands near Cannes-was constructed to strengthen the area's defense. In 1996, the city of Cannes acquired the fort and transformed it into the Cannes Sea Museum, also establishing an international youth hostel on the premises. Around 410 AD, Honorat d'Arles landed on what is now known as Lérina Island, aiming to build an abbey there.

The first documented history of the abbey from 1613 doesn't mention any fort on Sainte-Marguerite Island. However, by around 1560, the reformist group from the Sainte-Justine de Padoue et du Mont-Cassin, which had been working on reforming the Lérins Abbey since 1514, suggested to the French king the construction of a fort on the island in exchange for control over it, aiming to dissolve the order of Cardinal de Bourbon. This proposition was made again around 1600 by Guillaume du Vair, a leading figure in the Provence parliament. The island remained under the ownership of the Lérins Abbey.

In 1639, Richelieu appointed Charles de Pechpeyrou-Comminges de Guitaut, a military leader with experience in Malta, as the governor of the fort, a position he held until 1649 before passing it to his nephew, Guillaume de Guitaut.

By 1650, François Blondel and Pierre de Bonnefons, with connections to fortification engineering in Languedoc and Provence, proposed enhancements for the fort's defenses, including the construction of two demi-lunes. These additions were made in the mid-17th century, along with the Royal Gate, which was designed to be accessed via bridges and had another entrance on the west side known as the Marine Gate, based on Blondel's designs.

A 1679 plan detailed the fort's layout, including barracks, a church, and a powder magazine, indicating the strategic and comprehensive approach to the fort's construction and its significance in the region's history.