As a frontier town Antibes was necessarily much damaged during the wars between Francis I. and Charles V., being frequently attacked and pillaged. Its ancient buildings have thus been almost entirely demolished, either by the direct effects of war or in the construction of the fortifications, so that scarcely a trace of Roman occupation remains, save in some tombs, inscriptions, and urns which have been dug up. The oldest existing structures stand on the highest point of the rock facing the sea. Here we find some parts of the cathedral of the thirteenth century, and two towers in the style of those of the Mont du Chevalier at Cannes. The church is very simple in design, and seems to have been originally similar to that of Vence, but it has been greatly altered and a new front added in the seventeenth century (Fig. 207). The two towers at Antibes are of peculiar interest. At Cannes there is only one tower or keep, which was attached to the castle of the Chevalier. At Antibes one of the towers (Fig. 208) is in connection with an old palace (now a barrack), which doubtless occupies the site of the ancient castle, being on the summit of the rock, and suitably placed for keeping a look-out seawards. The other tower is close to the cathedral (Fig. 207), and is still connected with it by a covered way on the first floor. It seems probable that the first was the keep of the temporal Commandant and the other that of the spiritual Lord. The frequent incursions of the Corsairs would render such a place of security desirable in [Illustration: FIG. 207. TOWER OR KEEP ATTACHED TO CATHEDRAL, ANTIBES.] connection with the cathedral, and would also enable the bishop to be independent of the temporal power. Both keeps are constructed in the same manner as that of the Mont du Chevalier with rough faced ashlar blocks, and in both the entrance doorway is on the first floor. That of the castle (Fig. 208) is recessed under a plain round arch, and has a moulded step to receive the ladder or moveable stair by which it was approached. There are also two corbels, one on each side of the doorway, as if for the purpose of carrying a pent house roof. The stair is carried up round the inside of the walls and supported on corbels as at Cannes. The castle tower has in modern times been lowered and covered with a sloping roof. The bishop’s tower is now used as the belfry of the church, and has had large round headed openings cut in it near the top to let out the sound of the bells. [Illustration: FIG. 208. TOWER OR KEEP OF THE CASTLE, ANTIBES.]