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Antibes - a.k.a. 'Antipolis'
Antibes was a Greek fortified town named Antipolis (possibly
meaning "opposite the point of "Nice," across the Baie des Anges) in the 5th century BC, and later a Roman town, and always
an active port for trading along the Mediterranean.
History
Ligurian: Antibes goes back about 3000 years,
when Ligurian tribes used the little inlet of Saint-Roch as a natural port, protected from the east winds by two large rocks.
Greek: A Greek Massaliote colony founded "Antipolis"
(Antibes) and "Nikļa" (Nice) while expanding trade from "Massalia" (Marseilles). They fortified "Antipolis" against the ancient
Ligurian who had earlier been pushed off the coast and into the Alps.
Roman: About 154 BC, with the local tribes
of Dāciates and Oxybiens threatening Antipolis and Nikļa, the city of Marseilles called in Roman protection. By the 2nd century,
Rome had developed the region as a Provence, giving the name Provence that is used today. In 43 BC, Antipolis was annexed
by Rome.
The town is full of Roman artefacts (walls, aqueducts,
amphora, etc.) from the ancient town or the nearby sea bottom, and visible around the town or in the museums; details are
available from the Office de Tourism or the many guidebooks describing Antibes.
Barbarian: In 476, when the Roman Empire fell,
the barbarians invested the region. Vandals, Visigoths, Burgundians, Ostrogoths and Franks all had their turn, with the theme
being destruction.
Medieval: Antibes was ruled by the Lords
of Grasse and later by the Bishops of Antibes. At the end of the 14th century, Antibes was on the Franco-Savoyard frontier,
and in 1383, the Pope of Avignon "gave" Antibes to the Grimaldi family of Cagnes. In 1608, King Henri IV took Antibes into
his kingdom.
From: "LA-COTE-DAZUR.COM" at 1French-Riviera
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