Why go
The surviving towers near the Grand Môle and La Ponche are easier to read once you know why the town built walls. The account also links the working port to the civic militia still recalled in local celebration. That history survives in the public ritual of the Bravades.
The full story
The name Saint-Tropez comes from Torpes, an early Christian martyr whose arrival by sea belongs to local legend. After a period of attacks along the coast, the town was repopulated in the 15th century with Genoese families. A 1470 agreement allowed walls and two large towers, one by the Grand Môle and the other at La Ponche. Saint-Tropez developed its own fleet and civic administration, and its militia defended the port. In 1615, a Japanese delegation led by Hasekura Tsunenaga stopped here on its journey toward Rome, an unusual moment of contact between the two worlds. Later shipyards built local sailing craft and larger vessels, while fishing and trade in cork, wine and wood supported the waterfront. The modern yacht scene sits on top of a much older port economy; the Bravades still recalls the town’s patron saint and its armed civic past.