A hill by the sea

A border

Edged by urban activity, this area is typical of Calanques nature, with limestone, Mediterranean vegetation, and almost desert-like terrain. This area and Frioul are the aridest in France. Mont Rose peaks at 84 metres, a rocky spur between the sea and land.

Rich biodiversity

This area is home to a miniature concentration of all the main natural characteristics of the Calanques coastline: pine forests, garrigue scrubland and phryganea, rare and common species, the wind, sun, and the sea. It is a biodiversity hotspot where rich flora and fauna, some of which are rare and protected, are under threat.

It is a treasure trove of Mediterranean plantlife: Aleppo pines, Erica multiflora, grey-leaved cistus, rosemary, smilax, rock samphire, not to mention the famous astragale de Marseille! These species, some of which are endemic and fragile, are threatened by invasive exotic plants.

As for the fauna, Mont Rose is home to the Edward's psammodromus, France's smallest lizard measuring up to 12 centimetres and weighing less than 2 grams. It has been living on the Mediterranean coastline for 5 million years! Its natural park neighbours include other reptiles like the jewelled lizard or the Mauritanian tarantula. They are undoubtedly the oldest residents of Mont Rose.

A bastide and a knight

The place features in texts dating back to the 11th century, under the name of mons rotundus. Later, it was known among Provençal locals as lo grant mont redon which means the big round mountain. The expression has survived in the name of the adjoining village of Madrague de Montredon.

At the beginning of the 18th century, Mount Redon and the surrounding land belonged to the Roze family. The bastide they built there can still be seen today. The family's long-standing fame is due to Nicolas Roze, a knight who became famous during the 1720 plague and who resided stayed in the bastide.

The family eventually sold its land, but the Marseille population continued to refer to the port as calle de Roze. Calle in Provençal means a cove or natural harbour. That is how, nearly a century later, the grand mont redon was officially named Mont Rose.

The industrial revolution in Marseille

Marseille was a booming industrial area at the beginning of the 19th century. Factories were built in the Calanques as early as 1810, in Saména and La Madrague de Montredon for example. One of them had a long, climbing chimney, still seen winding up the hill. They were used to evacuate the toxic fumes as far away from residents as possible.

A family tomb in a military battery

Mont Rose has been chosen for impressive military sites since the 19th century and right up to the Second World War. Once, there were around ten canons here! A German anti-tank wall once blocked the road between La Madrague and Saména. The remains can still be seen on the roadside. The site was declassified by the army in 2005, but many military vestiges are still scattered along the coastline south of Marseille.

In a cave at the top of the hill lies the tomb of the Rostan d'Ancezune family who bought the land from the Roze family in 1776.

"Montredon follows the trio of villages comprising Saint-Giniez, Bonneveine and Mazargues? It is situated at the base of the triangle called Cap Croissette which points to the sea and protects the harbour from the easterly winds. It was built at the foot of immense masses of grey and sky-blue limestone where several stunted bushes struggle to grow on the slopes and the sun and dust whiten the still grey leaves."

 

Alexandre Dumas