About the town

The first traces of human settlement found in Sète date back to the Late Bronze. Today, these remains, discovered in 1973, lie beneath the surface of the Thau Lagoon, just off shore from the neighborhood called the Barrou. The first cartographical traces of this habitat did not appear until the 18th century.

We know that the zone was still inhabited after the Roman conquest of Southern Gaul and during the Roman Empire. As a commercial stopover for Mediterranean Civilizations such as Sicily, Italy and Greece, Sète and its mountain served as a geographical point of reference. A harbor of refuge for sailors since Antiquity, the area that would become Sète was a highly prized site until the construction of the port in the 17th century.

Until the end of the 17th century, the mountain was quite sparsely populated, even deserted. Its only visitors were the fishermen from neighbouring villages who came to fish the banks of the Thau Lagoon. The Mountain, now called the Mont St. Clair, also served as a hide-out for privateers and pirates, the most famous of which was Barberoussette.

In the 18th century, the mountain gradually saw the construction of small cabins, built out of dry stone, called ?baraquettes?. Traditionally, on Sundays, families would climb the mountain to spend the day in the country at the baraquette. Over the years, the baraquette became a veritable institution, with its rituals and traditions of Sètois family life.

It became apparent that the construction of a new port was vital for both economic and military reasons. If the Languedoc were to export its products, it would need a commercial port. On July 23rd 1596, Henri IV gave his official approval to the project, but for various reasons, this first attempt never got off the ground.

However, when King Louis XIV came to power, the project saw the light of day. Under the initiative of Colbert the King?s Minister, the construction got underway. On July 29th 1666 began the construction of a riprap jetty and the digging of the beach to join the Sea and the Lagoon. This date is now considered as the official date for the founding of Sète. The first stones were put into place on what would become the first mole, which would be lengthened in the 18th century. The people of neighboring villages: Bouzigues, Mèze, Frontignan and Marseillan, now came to work in Sète.

Little by little, town life began to organize itself around the essentials of life with the creation of several commerces. And the town of Sète was born.

On this historic day, July 29th, 1666 Sète also hosted the first nautical jousting tournament in its history. Since that day, the Festival of St. Louis has become an integral part of the city?s cultural identity and perhaps the most important event of the year.

On July 25th, 1710 at dawn, the people of Sète caught sight of an English fleet preparing to attack the city. Terrified, the population escaped, crossing the Thau Bassin to the mainland. Thus, the town of Sète became English, if only for a few hours, until the arrival of the Duke of Noailles and his troops. The Duke went to battle on the beach and came out victorious, chasing the English out of the area.

The attack made it obvious that there were serious faults in Sète?s defensive strategy. Immediately, fortifications were built. The armaments of the fort St Louis were multiplied. On the cliffs overlooking the Sea, a new fort was built called the Fort St. Pierre, which is now used as the Théâtre de la Mer.

In the 1850s, fishermen from Gaeta and Cetara, villages on the Amalfi coast near Naples, left their native Italy looking for a better life. They came to the south of France, and more precisely to Sète and the Grau du Roi. In 1928, Cette, which could also be spelled any number of ways including Sette, Septe, Cète, or Cept, under the Ancien Régime, officially became Sète by Ministerial Order.

In the 1960s, the fishing industry began to develop with the new techniques brought back by expatriates who returned to France from Northern Africa. Today, the town of Sète has a population of 40,000 citizens and has undergone an urban expansion to the north and on the Mont St. Clair.