Prison If

We take a boat ride by the Château d'If, a fortress (later a prison) located on the island of If, in the Mediterranean Sea about a mile offshore in the Bay of Marseille. It is famous, Dear Reader, from Alexandre Dumas' The Count of Monte Cristo where Le Monsieur de la Count jailed - I read the book a couple of years ago to my great delight. Recall the main character Edmond Dantès(a commoner who later purchases the noble title of Count) and his mentor, Abbé Faria, are imprisoned in If. After fourteen years, Dantès makes a daring escape from the castle, becoming the first person ever to do so and survive. In reality, no one is known to have done this. There is also a 33 Champs-Élysées BTW where Le Count lived in the story.

The château a square, three-story building 28 m long on each side, flanked by three towers with large gun embrasures. The remainder of the island, which measures about 30,000 square meters, heavily fortified; high ramparts with gun platforms surmount the island's cliffs.The isolated location and dangerous offshore currents of the Château d'If made it an ideal escape-proof prison, like our Alcatraz. Its was a dumping ground for political and religious detainees and one of the most feared and notorious jails in France. It was built in the 15th century and one may easily marvel at the effort this must have required.

"My partner is my master."

--The Count of Monte Cristo