Photo: Chateau D If Marseille

The Chateau d'If as seen from Notre Dame de la Garde, in Marseille on the Cote Bleue, Provence in France, Europe.

Marseille on the Cote Bleue in Provence, France was founded by Greek sailors in 600BC and was given the name Massalia. Twenty-seven centuries later Marseille is the oldest, and second most populated city in France.On the highest point in Marseille in Provence, there stands Notre-Dame de la Garde a huge basilica built in the middle of the 19th century. From the terrace of Notre Dame de la Garde one can see all over the city of Marseille. One of these views is the Chateau d'If in the Bay of Marseille, in Provence.Built on a uninhabited island in 1531 by King Francois I, it was an impenetrable fortress, although it was never attacked. During the Counter-Reformation Chateau d'If in Marseille, France was used as a prison for Protestants who either died there or were sent to be galley slaves.One of the most famous inmates of the Chateau d'If was Jose Faria a much-loved priest of Paris who was immortalized by Alexandre Dumas in his book 'The Count of Monte Cristo'. Another poor soul, a Monsieur de Niozelles spent six years of solitary confinement for not removing his hat to Louis XlV. It is ironic that 'If' is French for 'yew' which is a tree often associated with death.Chateau d'If in the Bay of Marseille seen from the Notre Dame de la Garde, ND de la Garde in the city of Marseille, Bouches du Rhone, Cote Bleue, Blue Coast, Mediterranean, Provence, France, Europe.