The village of Castellar, in the Alpes-Maritimes department, consists of a formerly fortified quadrilateral set in a checked pattern on the outcrop of Saint-Sébastien hill. The tip of the southern spur is occupied by the parish Saint-Pierre church, erected at the foot of the cliffs that mark the border with Italy. Due to its location, Castellar found itself at the heart of numerous armed conflicts, especially during the Second World War, when its population fell from 427 inhabitants in 1936 to 297 ten years later.