Sidi Bou Said

Sidi Bou Said, the World's First Listed Site

Since the 17th century, the charm of this village, named after a Muslim saint who died in 1231 and whose tomb is still honored today, has attracted the Tunisian bourgeoisie and the Husseinite beylical family. It became the seat of a municipality in 1835. In 1915, a decree was issued to protect the village, imposing the blue and white colors beloved by Baron d'Erlanger, a painter, musicologist, and prominent Franco-British orientalist who built a palace of 2,000 m² in a five-hectare garden, now the 'Center and Museum of Arab and Mediterranean Music'. This decree prohibits any anarchic construction on the promontory, making Sidi Bou Said the first classified site in the world.