In 1516, a gift from the King of Portugal intended for Pope Leo X made a stopover on the Île d’If on its way to Rome. The gift, a rhinoceros, an animal previously unknown in Europe, aroused curiosity with the French King and people. Unfortunately, when the trip to Rome was resumed the freighter was shipwrecked and the rhinoceros only arrived at the Pope in stuffed form. [1]
The Château d’If is a fortress located on the Île d’If, situated about 1.5 kilometres offshore from Marseille in south-eastern France. It is famous for being one of the settings of Alexandre Dumas’s adventure novel The Count of Monte Cristo and is a popular tourist destination.
Built in 1529, on the orders of François I, the Château d’If was Marseille’s first royal fortress. Its role was to protect one of the kingdom’s main trade ports, where the fleet of royal galleys was anchored, and to watch over Marseille. It later served as a prison until the end of the 19th century.
The island became internationally famous when Alexandre Dumas used it as a setting for his novel The Count of Monte Cristo, which was published to widespread acclaim in 1844. In the book, the hero, Edmond Dantès (a commoner who later purchases the noble title of Count) and his mentor, Abbé Faria, were both imprisoned in the fortress. After fourteen years, Dantès makes a daring escape, becoming the first person ever to do so and survive. In reality, no one is known ever to have done this.
Today, the Château is a museum and maintains a couple of cells in Dantes’ and Abbé Faria’s name, and has on display an exhibition about Alexandre Dumas and The Count of Monte Cristo.
Mark Twain visited the château in July 1867 during a month-long pleasure excursion which he recounts his visit in his book, The Innocents Abroad.
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