Monte Carlo (
French:
Monte-Carlo,
Occitan:
Montcarles,
Monégasque:
Monte-Carlu) is one of
Monaco's administrative areas, sometimes erroneously believed to be a town or the country's capital, just as
Monaco-Ville. The official capital is the city of
Monaco, which shares the exact same territory as the country itself (Monaco is indeed a
city-state).
Monte Carlo, which lies in the
French Riviera on the
Mediterranean Sea in Monaco is surrounded by
France and close to
Italy. It is widely known for its
casino,
gambling, and glamour. The permanent population is about 3,000. Monte Carlo quarter includes not only Monte Carlo proper where the famous
Le Grand Casino is located, it also includes the neighbourhoods of
Saint-Michel,
Saint-Roman/Tenao, and the beach community of
Larvotto. It borders the
French town of
Beausoleil (sometimes referred to as Monte-Carlo-Supérieur for image reasons).
History
Founded in 1866, Monte Carlo has a name of Italian origin meaning "Mount Charles". Named in compliment to the prince then reigning,
Charles III of Monaco. The specific mountain is the escarpment at the foot of the
Maritime Alps on which the town stands.
thumb|left|Charles III of Monaco who was responsible for turning the Monte Carlo district and Monaco into a thriving town
However, the history of the area and the ruling
Grimaldi familia dates back centuries. The port of Monaco is first mentioned in historical records back in 43 BC, when
Julius Caesar concentrated his fleet there while waiting in vain for
Pompey. In the
12th century, the area fell under the sovereignty of
Genoa who was granded the entire coastline from
Porto Venere to Monaco. After much conflict, the Grimaldis retrieved the rock in 1295, but suffered a significant amount of opposition over the years. In 1506 the Monegasques, under
Lucien, Lord of Monaco, were under siege for some four months by the Genoan army with ten times the number of men. Monaco officially received full autonomy in 1524, but it had a turbulent history to retain its power and on occasions briefly fell under the domination of Spain,
Sardinia, and France.
In the 1850s Monaco’s reigning family was almost bankrupt, caused by the loss of two towns, which provided most of the Principality’s revenues with their
lemon,
orange and
olive crops.
At this time a number of small towns in Europe were growing in prosperity with gambling establishments, notably in German towns such as
Baden-Baden and
Homburg. In 1856,
Charles III of Monaco gave a concession to
Napoleon Langlois and
Albert Aubert to establish a sea-bathing facility for the treatment of various diseases and build a German-style casino in Monaco.
However the initial casino was opened in La Condamine in 1862 and was not a success and subsequently moved location several times in the years that followed to its present location in the area called “Les Spelugues” (The Caves) of Monte Carlo. The success of the casino grew slowly, largely due to the area's inaccessibility from much of Europe. The installation of the railway in 1868, however, brought with it an influx of people into Monte Carlo and saw it grow in wealth.
In 1911, the Constitution divided the principality of Monaco in 3 municipalities, the municipality of Monte Carlo was created covering the existing neighborhoods of La Rousse / Saint Roman, Larvotto / Bas Moulins and Saint Michel. In 1917, it returned to a single area throughout the principality. Today Monaco however is divided into 11 quarters.
The quarter of Monte Carlo was served by
tramways from 1900 to 1953, linking parts of
Monaco. In 2003, a new cruise ship pier was completed in the harbour at Monte Carlo.
Sport and leisure
thumb|left|Monte Carlo CasinoMonte Carlo is home to most of the
Circuit de Monaco, on which the
Formula One Monaco Grand Prix takes place. It also hosts world championship
boxing bouts, the
European Poker Tour Grand Final and the
World Backgammon Championship as well as fashion shows and other events. Although the
Monte Carlo Masters tennis tournament is billed as taking place in the community, its actual location is in the adjacent French commune of
Roquebrune-Cap-Martin. Monte Carlo has been visited by royalty as well as the general public and movie stars for decades. The
Monte Carlo Rally is one of the longest running and most respected
car rallies, and marks the start of each rally season as the first event on the
World Rally Championship calendar, but the rally takes place outside the Monte Carlo quarter.
Monte Carlo is one of Europe's leading tourist
resorts, although many of the key tourist destinations are located in other parts of Monaco, including such attractions as
Monaco Cathedral, the
Napoleon Museum, the
Oceanographic Museum and aquarium, and
the Prince's Palace, all of which are located in
Monaco-Ville.
Opera
The
Opéra de Monte-Carlo or
Salle Garnier was built by the famous architect
Charles Garnier as an exact replica in miniature of the Paris Opera House. The auditorium of the opera house is decorated in red and gold and has frescoes and sculptures all around the auditorium. The ceiling of the auditorium is covered in high quality paintings. It was inaugurated on January 25, 1879 with a performance by
Sarah Bernhardt dressed as a nymph. The first opera performed there was
Robert Planquette's
Le Chevalier Gaston on 8 February 1879, and that was followed by three more in the first season.
With the influence of the first director,
Jules Cohen (who was instrumental in bringing
Adelina Patti) and the fortunate combination of
Raoul Gunsbourg, the new director from 1883, and
Princess Alice, the opera-loving American wife of Charles III's successor,
Albert I, the company was thrust onto the world's opera community stage. Gunsbourg remained for sixty years overseeing such premiere productions as
Berlioz's
La damnation de Faust in 1893 and the first appearances in January 1894 of the heroic Italian tenor,
Francesco Tamagno in
Verdi's
Otello, the title role of which he had created for the opera's premiere in Italy.
By the early years of the twentieth century, the Salle Garnier was to see such great performers as
Nellie Melba and
Enrico Caruso in
La bohème and
Rigoletto (in 1902), and
Feodor Chaliapin in the premiere of
Jules Massenet's
Don Quichotte (1910). This production formed part of a long association between the company and Massenet and his operas, two of which were presented there posthumously.
Other famous twentieth-century singers to appear at Monte Carlo included
Titta Ruffo,
Geraldine Farrar,
Mary Garden,
Tito Schipa,
Beniamino Gigli,
Claudia Muzio,
Georges Thill and
Lily Pons.
Apart from Massenet, composers whose works had their first performances at Monte Carlo included:
Saint-Saëns (
Hélène, 1904);
Mascagni (Amica, 1905); and
Puccini (La rondine, 1917). Indeed, since its inauguration, the theatre has hosted 45 world premiere productions of operas.
René Blum was retained to found the Ballet de l'Opéra. The "Golden Age" of the Salle Garnier is gone, as small companies with small houses are not able to mount productions that cost astronomical sums. Nonetheless, the present day company still presents a season containing five or six operas.
Hôtel de Paris
right|thumb|Hotel de ParisThe Hôtel de Paris was established in 1864 by
Charles III of Monaco adjacent to the casino. It is a prestigious and luxurious palace style hotel in the heart of Monte Carlo. It belongs to the
Société des Bains de Mer Monaco (SBM), It is part of the elite Palace Grand Hotels in Monaco with the
Hotel Hermitage, the
Monte-Carlo Beach Hotel on
Monte-Carlo Bay Hotel & Resort, the
Metropole Hotel and
Fairmont hotel.
The hotel has 106 rooms divided into four groups based on type of view, decoration and luxury. The Exclusive City View offers 20 rooms, the Superior Courtyard has 29 large rooms, the Exclusive Sea View 59 and the Exclusive Casino has 6.
Additionally there are 74 suites and junior suites which are grouped similarly, offering more luxury than the rooms. There are Single and Double suites as well as Courtyard Junior suites and Sea/Casino Junior suites.
There is also 1 Presidential suite.
In popular culture
Monte Carlo has featured in numerous films and television series. The 1930 American film
Monte Carlo starring
Jack Buchanan and
Jeanette MacDonald was set in Monte Carlo. The casino featured in the
James Bond films
Never Say Never Again (1983) and
Goldeneye (1995).
To Catch a Thief (1954) was an
Alfred Hitchcock film with Monte Carlo and its famous casino as the setting and featured
Cary Grant and the future
Princess Grace of Monaco as the stars. There is a scene in the movie where the-then
Grace Kelly drives a car very quickly - and dangerously - along the steep winding roads of Monaco that surround the heights of Monte Carlo; an interesting coincidence to her actual fate in 1982. Monte Carlo was even a location for the late 1960s British
London based series
Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) where in the eleventh episode of the series,
The Ghost who Saved the Bank at Monte Carlo Mike Pratt,
Kenneth Cope and
Annette Andre went to Monte Carlo to accompany a highly talented elderly woman to gamble inside the casino and layway a group of thugs (amongst them
Brian Blessed). In 1970
Chevrolet introduced a car called the
Chevrolet Monte Carlo which went through six generations of production until 2007.
thumb|600px|center|Panorama|Panorama of [[La Condamine and
Monte Carlo from the lookout near the
Prince's Palace of Monaco in
Monaco-Ville.]]
See also
