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Origin and history

The Latitude 43 Tourism Group is a major architectural ensemble created in 1932 by architect Georges-Henri Pingusson in Saint-Tropez, on a site overlooking the Gulf. Built in just six months in reinforced concrete with hollow brick fillings, this ambitious project included a 110-room hotel (including 90 with bathrooms), a restaurant, a casino, shops, a sports complex (pools, tennis courts), as well as ancillary buildings such as a castle or garages. Pingusson designed the entire project, up to the interior details: furniture, luminaires, carpets, and even staff uniforms. Inaugurated on 14 July 1932, the hotel operated only a few seasons before being requisitioned during World War II.

During World War II, the site was successively occupied by the French, Italian, German and American armies. From 1945 to 1947, it served as a rest centre for former prisoners in concentration camps upon their return from captivity. Starting in 1948, the hotel was transformed into an apartment condominium, marking the end of its original tourist vocation. Today, parts of the building (façades, roofs, common areas, two apartments, EDF transformer and park elements) have been protected under the Historic Monuments since a decree of 8 September 1992.

The architecture of Latitude 43 illustrates the innovation of the 1930s, with a global approach where the architect masteres all aspects, from structure to decorative details. The site, although partially modified, retains traces of its original ambition: a luxurious and functional resort, reflecting the rise of seaside tourism on the French Riviera. The requisition during the war and its conversion into a condominium testify to the historical upheavals of the twentieth century, radically transforming its original destination.

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