Place · city

Villefranche-sur-Mer

Villefranche-sur-Mer is a coastal town just east of Nice, on one of the deepest natural harbours of the Mediterranean. Founded as a free town by Charles II of Anjou around 1295, it passed to Savoy with Nice in 1388 and became the dukes' main naval base, defended by the Citadel of Saint-Elme built in the 1550s.

Villefranche-sur-Mer
Image: Patrice Semeria · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 1 state history

County of Nice

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Villefranche-sur-Mer. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/villefranche-sur-mer
MLA
“Villefranche-sur-Mer.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/villefranche-sur-mer. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Villefranche-sur-Mer.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/villefranche-sur-mer.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Villefranche-sur-Mer’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/villefranche-sur-mer (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻