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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The Batterie du Pradeau, known as the Fondue Tower, is a military fort built around 1634 under Richelieu, south of the peninsula of Giens (Var). This small polygonal structure, without a tower-reduced but equipped with a guard body, was designed to cross its lights with the Petit Langoustier to protect the pass leading to Porquerolles. It housed a barracks of 12 to 15 soldiers and a powder shop, renovated in the 17th and 19th centuries.

In 1881, the battery was still armed with two 30 striped cannons. Declassified in the 19th century, it fell into ruins before being listed as a historical monument in 1989 (after a first classification of the site in 1939). Owned by Port-Cros National Park since 1978, it was the object of untapped restoration campaigns in the 1980s and then completely rehabilitated between 2020 and 2022.

The project, financed at €2.5 million by the national park, the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and public partners, transformed the site into an interpretation centre opened in November 2022. It now welcomes visitors to the islands of Porquerolles and Port-Cros. Its Provençal name, Tour Foundudo ("tower split"), evokes its state of ruin before restoration.

Architecturally, the structure is distinguished by its enclosure without a central tower, its buildings in coated (partly restored) bellows, and its brick vault for the powder shop. The barracks, covered with hollow tiles, were rebuilt between 1810 and 1822. The access bridge, renovated in the 2000s, now provides secure access to the site.

The Fondue Tower illustrates the coastal defence effort against barbaric piracy in the 17th and 18th centuries. Its strategic position, at the entrance of the Hyères harbour, made it a key link in the local military apparatus, complemented by other forts on the Hyères islands. Its abandonment in the 19th century reflects the evolution of defensive needs after the pacification of the Mediterranean.

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