This was done in order to block the military port of Toulon to help the army of Victor Amadeus II Duke of Savoy and his cousin Eugene besiege that city.

The cell of the mysterious 'Man with the Iron Mask' can be visited in the Fort of Sainte-Marguerite, now renamed the Musée de la Mer (Museum of the Sea).

This museum also houses archaeological discoveries from shipwrecks off the coast of the island, including Roman and Saracen ceramics.

Monks have inhabited the island more or less continuously since AD 410 and, at the height of their secular power, owned Cannes, Mougins, and Vallauris, plus Seborga, Italy.

The monks divide their time between prayer and producing red and white wine, honey, lavender oil and Lérina, a herbal liqueur.