The city of Frejus was founded in 49 BC by Julius Caesar with the name «Forum Julius», and is now dubbed «French Pompeii» by the number and quality of monuments from the Roman era found here. The settlement developed quickly because of the Aurelian road and its strategic location: as early as 39 BC Augustus made a military port here.
In the early Middle Ages there was a decline, and in 940 it was completely ruined by Arab corsairs. In 990, the city was reborn thanks to the initiatives of Bishop Rikulf, who also founded the cathedral and rebuilt the port facilities, allowing the citizens to resume their commercial activities in the Mediterranean.
In the 17th century, following epidemics of malaria and the cessation of port activities, Frejus was again deserted. The most important monument of the Forum of Julius is the amphitheater built outside the city walls for Roman soldiers. Ruins of a theater, parts of a gigantic aqueduct, port fortifications and the Augustus Lighthouse, which was rebuilt in the Middle Ages from the carcass of a Roman lighthouse, also remain from the Roman period.
There are also famous monuments from the Middle Ages, located mostly in the bishop’s quarter. They are the beautiful Gothic-Provençal cathedral, the 5th century baptistery, the elegant cloister and the bishop’s palace, now the seat of the municipality.
