^{This page is part of © FOTW Flags Of The World website}

Castillon (Municipality, Alpes-Maritimes, France)

by Ivan Sache

Presentation of the city
Description of the flag

See also:

Presentation of the city

Castillon is a village of 282 inhabitants (1999 census).

In the XIIth century, the municipal consuls of Sospel, then the second most important city in the area after Nice, built fortifications to protect the city from the Lombard and Sarracen attacks. The village of Castillon (Castiglione, Castillionum) was built within these fortifications, which were later suppressed. Due to its strategical location on the road between Menton and Sospel, the village was trashed during the Austro-Sardinian wars, and rebuilt below the remains of the medieval castle.
In February 1886, an earthquake destroyed again the village, which was once again rebuilt slightly downhill from its original location.
During the winter 1944-1945, Castillon was once again completely destroyed by the bombings required to open the road to the plateau of Authion, where enemy troops resisted until April 1945.
In 1951, war damages allowed to rebuild Castillon. To avoid desertification and abandon of the village, its inhabitants founded in 1989 an artists' village called Les Arcades du Serre, where symposiums on sculpture are organized every summer.

Ivan Sache, 19 April 2003

Description of the flag

The flag of Castillon is vertically divided blue-red, according to a picture taken by Dominique Cureau:

Ivan Sache, 19 April 2003