Cassis

Sister cities

• Burnham-on-Sea

History

The present site of Cassis was first occupied between 600 and 500 BC by the Ligures, who constructed a fortified dwelling at the top of the Baou Redon. These people lived by fishing, hunting, and farming. The current site of Cassis could have been inhabited by the Greeks, though no proof has yet been found. During Roman times, Cassis was part of the maritime route made by the Emperor Antoninus Pius. It was a small village, established mainly around the Arena and Corton beaches. The principal livelihood was fishing and maritime trade with North Africa and the Middle East. Several archaeological discoveries attest to this. From the 5th to the 10th centuries AD, invasions by foreign tribes led the population to seek refuge in the castrum, a fortified city that, in 1223, became the property of the Seigneurie des Les Baux-de-Provence. In the 15th century, Cassis was ceded to the Counts of Provence; then René of Anjou gave the town to the Bishops of Marseille, who ruled the town until the Revolution of 1789.

Geography

The town is situated on the Mediterranean coast, about east of Marseille. Cap Canaille, , between Cassis and La Ciotat ("the civitas") is one of the highest maritime bluffs in Europe, a sailor's landmark for millennia. It is east of Marseille and in the department of Bouches-du-Rhône. One of its main beaches, called "Bestouan", is made cooler by a karstic source.

Most-observed species

• Grey-leaved Cistus

  Cistus albidus L. · Magnoliopsida
  2,267
• Mastic Tree

  Pistacia lentiscus L. · Magnoliopsida
  1,749
• Yellow-legged Gull

  Larus michahellis J.F.Naumann, 1840 · Aves
  1,719
• Japanese Cheesewood

  Pittosporum tobira (Murray) Aiton fil. · Magnoliopsida
  1,643
• Tree Medick

  Medicago arborea L. · Magnoliopsida
  1,627
• Eurasian Collared-Dove

  Streptopelia decaocto (Frivaldszky, 1838) · Aves
  1,461
• Blue Aphyllanthes

  Aphyllanthes monspeliensis L. · Liliopsida
  1,376
• Eurasian Magpie

  Pica pica (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,339

Most recent

• M 2.5 — 2008-12-23
  4 km ENE of Éguilles, France
• M 2.7 — 2008-10-02
  75 km SSW of Six-Fours-les-Plages, France
• M 2.5 — 2008-07-19
  77 km SSW of Six-Fours-les-Plages, France
• M 2.7 — 2008-05-21
  6 km SSW of Carqueiranne, France
• M 2.6 — 2008-04-15
  64 km SSW of Port-Saint-Louis-du-Rhône, France
• M 2.7 — 2008-03-04
  28 km S of Le Lavandou, France