The history of Saint Jean Cap Ferrat shows that the town was known to the ancient Greeks as Anao, the site of present days Cap Ferrat was first settled by Celto-ligurian tribes, then by the Lombards at the end of the 6th century. Sant Ospizio (or Saint Hospice), a hermit friar, is said to have inhabited a tower on the Eastern part of the peninsula.
Middle Ages
In the 8th century, the history of Saint Jean Cap Ferrat changed when the Saracens occupy the site and use it as a base for pirating until the 11th century. By 1388, the territory of Saint Jean Cap Ferrat with the entire County of Nice is given by treaty to the Dukes of Savoy (see also History of Villefranche-sur-Mer).
The history of Saint Jean Cap Ferrat tells that Duke Emmanuel Philibert of Savoy builds a fort at Saint-Hospice in 1561 in an effort to secure the coastline from invaders. The fort is destroyed in 1706 by the Duke of Berwick when Nice is occupied by the French armies of King Louis XIV.
Renaissance
During the 18th century, the history of Saint Jean Cap Ferrat changed when the area - officially part of the Kingdom of Sardinia - was occupied off and on by the French. It is returned to the Kingdom of Sardinia in 1814 after Napoleon's abdication.
In 1860, the County of Nice is finally ceded by treaty to France and the peninsula becomes a magnet for kings and wealthy visitors; a new era in the history of Saint Jean Cap Ferrat. The small fishing village of Saint Jean develops and by 1904 is established as a self-standing commune with the rest of the peninsula, separated from nearby Villefranche-sur-Mer.
Arrival of the rich and famous
At the beginning of the 20th century, King Léopold II of Belgium owned an estate on Cap Ferrat and built several houses and an artificial lake. The main residence is the Villa des Cèdres, which has been owned by Marnier-Lapostolle (the makers of Grand Marnier) since 1924 and is now in part a
