The current village of Castellar in the Alpes-Maritimes department forms a quadrilateral at the top of the Saint-Sébastien hill. The tip of its southern spur is occupied by a church built during the 15th century. The hill presents a flat promontory located at an altitude of 1,190 ft (363 m) on which the village follows a checkerboard plan constituted by three parallel streets connected by vaulted passages. It was chosen as the new location of Castellar in 1435, following the authorization given to the inhabitants by their lords, Louis and Henrion Lascaris, to move their village to a more convenient site than the rocky outcrop they previously occupied.