Mougins. Castelaras.
4¾ m. N. from Cannes, on a hill 820 ft. above the sea, is [Mougins], pop. 1680. The road ascends all the way, passing by the cemetery and traversing vineyards and large olive groves. The omnibus goes no farther than Les Baraques, about ¼ m. below the town. Fare, 75 c. Cab there and back, one horse, 12 frs.; two horses, 16 frs.; 1 hour’s rest. Mougins still retains a few low portions of its walls and one gate, just behind the church. In the shop near the gate is the key of the church tower. The church dates from the 12th cent. From the tower, ascended by 75 steps, is a beautiful view. To the west is La Roquette, N.W. Mouans-Sartoux, and beyond Grasse. To the S.W. near the sea, and on the border of the Estérels, is the village of Mandelieu.
4 m. N. from Mougins, by the stony old road, or a little farther by the new road, is [Castelaras], 1050 ft. above the sea. It is half a villa and half a farmhouse, commanding from the tower a splendid view of Grasse, Le Bar, the valley of the Loup, Tourettes, Vence, etc., to the north; Biot, Antibes, Nice, etc., to the east; Mouans, Auribeau, and the Estérel mountains to the west; and Cannes with its islands to the south. The easiest way to approach Castelaras on foot is to take the train to Mouans-Sartoux, pop. 1010, then ascend the hill by the steep road to the east of the station. When on the top the farmhouse and tower are distinctly seen. Carriage there and back, 35 frs. The column farther north marks the tomb of a gentleman who died at Grasse in 1883.
Sail by steamboat to the Iles de Lerins. Time, 1 hr. The steamer makes two trips, so that passengers may land by the first at Ste. Marguerite, and by the second be carried on to St. Honorat, where the steamer remains sufficient time to visit the castle.
[ ILES DE LERINS.]
The Island of Ste. Marguerite, 4½ m. in circumference and 1½ m. from the mainland, is covered entirely with a pine forest, except at Point Croisette, on which stands the fort founded by Richelieu, containing the apartments in which Marshal Bazaine was confined and the far more interesting vaulted cell in which the Man of the Iron Mask was closely guarded. The present entrance did not exist at that time, the only communication then being by the now walled-up door which led into the house of the governor, M. de St. Mars. From behind the prison a road, bordered by the Eucalyptus globulus, goes right through the pine plantation to the other side of the island.
The name of the Man of the Iron Mask was Hercules Anthony Matthioli, a Bolognese of ancient family, born on the 1st December 1640. On the 13th of January 1661 he married Camilla, daughter of Bernard Paleotti, by whom he had two sons, one of whom only had posterity, which has long since been extinct. Early in life Matthioli was public reader in the University of Bologna, which he soon quitted to enter the service of Charles III., Duke of Mantua, by whom he was finally made Secretary of State. The successor of Charles III., Ferdinand Charles IV., the last sovereign of Mantua, of the house of Gonzaga, created Matthioli supernumerary senator of Mantua, and gave him the title of Count. Towards the end of 1677 the Abbé d’Estrades, ambassador from France to the Republic of Venice, conceived the idea, which he was well aware would be highly acceptable to the insatiable ambition of his master, Louis XIV., of inducing the weak and unfortunate Duke Ferdinand Charles to allow of the introduction of a French garrison into Casale, a strongly-fortified town, in a great measure the key of Italy. The cession of the fortress of Pinerolo to the French by Victor Amadeus, Duke of Savoy, in 1632, had opened to them the entrance into Piedmont, while the possession of Casale would have opened to them the broad and fertile plains of Milan.
The great difficulty Estrades had to encounter at first in the prosecution of this intrigue was to find a medium of communication between himself and the Duke. This channel was at last found in the person of Matthioli, who enjoyed the Duke’s confidence and favour, and was besides a complete master of Italian politics. Through him the schemes of Estrades progressed so well that he was invited to the French court, where he was received and rewarded by Louis XIV.,
who at the same time presented him with a valuable diamond ring. Shortly after Matthioli’s return to Italy he allowed himself to be bought over by the Austrian party, which frustrated the French negotiations and so exasperated the vindictive Louis that he sent orders to the Abbé Estrades to have him kidnapped at all hazards. For this purpose Matthioli was induced to go to the frontier beyond Turin, where he was arrested as a traitor to France by the Abbé, accompanied by four soldiers, on 2d May 1679. Such a scandalous breach of international law required the adoption of extraordinary precautionary means of concealment. His name was changed to Lestang, he was compelled to wear a black velvet mask, and when he travelled armed attendants on horseback were ready to despatch him if he made any attempt to escape, or even to reveal himself.