The keep (12 & 13th c)

The keep is the only part of the château to have survived. The rest was progressively demolished, largely due to modifications to the nearby church during the 16th and 17th centuries.
The rusticated stone visible on the lower section of the tower could date back to an initial 12th-century construction. The bell at the top of the tower was cast in 1443. It carries the Latin inscription: "hora est jam de somno suggere" (the hours invite us to dream).
Several prestigious guests stayed in the keep: the Count of Provence Raymond Bérenger V who, in 1224, came to thank Saint-Paul de Vence for its loyalty; Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban, military architect to Louis XIV; and François I.
Since the 18th century the keep has housed the Mairie (the town hall). Yves Montand and Simone Signoret got married here on 22 December 1951, with Jacques Prévert and Paul Roux as their witnesses.