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For those of you who are familiar with classic French literature, you have probably read\u2014or at least heard of\u2014Le Conte de Monte-Cristo<\/i><\/b> (The Count of Monte-Cristo), a novel written by famed 19th<\/sup> century French author Alexandre Dumas. Edmond Dant\u00e8s, the main character, is wrongfully accused of being a Bonapartiste<\/i><\/b> (a follower of Napoleon) and is imprisoned in ch\u00e2teau d\u2019If<\/i><\/b><\/a> <\/i>(castle of If). While in prison, Dant\u00e8s befriends l\u2019Abb\u00e9 Faria<\/i><\/b> (Abbot Faria) who becomes his mentor and reveals to him the location of a vast treasure on the island of Montecristo off the coast of Italy. Dant\u00e8s escapes from If<\/i>, finds the treasure and seeks revenge on those who betrayed him.<\/p>\n Le Conte de Monte-Cristo<\/i><\/b> is an archetypal tale of revenge and has rightfully earned its place in the pantheon of classic French literature. The story has been adapted to film, television, theater, etc. If you aren\u2019t interested in reading the book, I highly recommend the 2002 movie The Count of Monte Cristo<\/i> starring Jim Caviezel as Edmond Dant\u00e8s.<\/p>\n Although the novel is purely fictional, many of the locations within the book do exist and ch\u00e2teau d\u2019If is one of them. Located in the Mediterranean Sea a couple miles off the coast of Marseille<\/i><\/b><\/a> (the third largest city in France), ch\u00e2teau d\u2019If was originally built as a fortress between 1527 and 1529 on the orders of King Fran\u00e7ois I<\/i><\/b> (Francis I). It was never put to use as a defensive outpost but instead became a high-security prison akin to the more modern Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary located off the coast of San Francisco in California. If<\/i> remained a prison until 1890 when it was opened to the public and became a tourist attraction thanks, in no small part, to the popularity of Le Conte de Monte-Cristo<\/i><\/b>.<\/p>\n If you have ever visited a medieval castle, then you are no doubt familiar with the dark rooms, humid atmosphere and general dreariness that is the hallmark of ancient stone structures. Add to that the complete isolation of a rocky promontory in the Mediterranean Sea and you have ch\u00e2teau d\u2019If. The cachots<\/i><\/b> (cells), also known as oubliettes<\/i><\/b> (from the verb oublier<\/i><\/b>, to forget) are rather large but completely dark save for a small window covered with rusted metal bars. Although sunshine is abundant in southern France, for those who were imprisoned in Ch\u00e2teau d\u2019If, the sense of d\u00e9sespoir<\/i><\/b> (despair) and isolation must have been overwhelming. In the 17th<\/sup> and 18th<\/sup> centuries, more than 3,500 Huguenots<\/i><\/b> (French Protestants) were imprisoned in the ch\u00e2teau following King Louis XIV\u2019s revocation of the \u00c9dit de Nantes<\/i><\/b> (Edict of Nantes).<\/p>\n
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