As a result of being a coastal town and needing to protect itself from attack, St Tropez became well-fortified early on in its history. You can now visit three towers scattered across the city's coastline.
Originally, four towers were built to protect the coast and the port: Tour du Portalet, Tour la Vieille, Tour de Suffren, now lost, and the Tour Jarlier.
The Tour du Portalet and the Tour la Vieille, or Old Tower, look right out over the sea and are situated on either side of a cove called La Glaye, watching the entrance to the town from the Mediterranean. These two towers date from the 15th century and are situated in the historical fishermen quarter of La Ponche.
The last tower, and the most central one, is to be found on Rue Jarlier. This structure, built a little later than the others, dates from the 16th century. It confers a tranquillity and charm upon a street which is of considerable architectural interest.
The Tour Suffren bore the name of the ancient lords of Saint Tropez. Even if the tower is now lost, you can see the castle which they turned into their family home in the 18th century, in Saint Tropez's main square. It cannot be visited, but you can see its imposing stone exterior.
References:The Church of St Donatus name refers to Donatus of Zadar, who began construction on this church in the 9th century and ended it on the northeastern part of the Roman forum. It is the largest Pre-Romanesque building in Croatia.
The beginning of the building of the church was placed to the second half of the 8th century, and it is supposed to have been completed in the 9th century. The Zadar bishop and diplomat Donat (8th and 9th centuries) is credited with the building of the church. He led the representations of the Dalmatian cities to Constantinople and Charles the Great, which is why this church bears slight resemblance to Charlemagne's court chapels, especially the one in Aachen, and also to the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna. It belongs to the Pre-Romanesque architectural period.
The circular church, formerly domed, is 27 m high and is characterised by simplicity and technical primitivism.