The village of Gorbio is perched at the top of a rocky peak located in the center of a mountainous cirque that overhangs it by more than 1,968 ft (600 m). Implanted north-east of Menton in the Alpes-Maritimes department, it is the first hilltop village visible from the motorway when coming from Italy. It would have been founded by the evangelist Barnabas, a companion of Paul, and would have known a certain opulence in the Middle Ages attested by its monuments. It was not of strategic interest back then but rather commercial due to its location on the path linking Carnolès to Peille via the Madone de Gorbio pass.