The Blue Drawing Room

The Louis XV Drawing Room or, as it is probably better known today, the Blue Stateroom is so named because of the blue brocade and gold color theme and the portraiture associated with King Louis XV of France. There is a representative painting of King Louis XV done by Francois Stiémart which is a copy of one by Jean-Baptiste Vanloo which hangs at the palace of Versailles in France. There is also another painting copied by Stiémart of Marie Leczinska (then Queen consort to Louis XV) and both of these were given to HSH Prince Antoine I by His Most Christian Majesty King Louis XV. There are also portraits of Prince Honore III and his sister Princess Charlotte done when they were children and a portrait of Prince Antoine I by Dominique-Joseph Bressan. There is another famous painting, called the Bourgignon, which is a battle scene painted by Jacques Courtois. Also, still in the military theme, is a painting called the Triumph of Galateus which is believed to have been painted by Annibale Carracci of Bologne. Not forgetting the family, there is also a painting of Princess Caroline done in 1878 by Marie Veroust and two smaller paintings representing spring and autumn.

The Blue Stateroom is between the Officer’s Hall and the Throne Room. Venetian chandeliers of Murano glass decorate the room which is used for official receptions.

MM Video: Monaco Sights and Ceremonies

MM Video: Gambling in Monaco

The Villa Charlotte

The Villa Charlotte was constructed from 1902 to 1903 at Luzarches in the Val d’Oise by the architect Marie-Leon de Tor at the request of His Serene Highness Prince Louis II of Monaco. He named the villa in honor of his daughter, HSH Hereditary Princess Charlotte of Monaco, mother of Princess Antoinette and Prince Rainier III. The building was later remodeled somewhat based on the ’Art Nouveau’ style.

Hotels of Monaco

Port Palace

Novotel

Monte Carlo Beach Hotel

Monte Carlo Bay Hotel & Resort

Le Meridien Beach Plaza

Hotel Metropole Monte Carlo

Hotel Hermitage

Hotel de Paris

Fairmont Monte Carlo

The Napoleon Museum

HSH Prince Louis II, a dedicated military man, was fascinated by the history of Imperial France and the career of Napoleon Bonaparte. During his reign he amassed a considerable collection of historical relics related to the period and to preserve and share this collection established the Napoleon Museum of Monaco. Most of the items came from Prince Louis II but the collection was also enlarged by his grandson and successor Prince Rainier III who moved the museum to the south wing of the Princely Palace in 1970. There are over a thousand pieces and documents related to the First Empire and the life, battles and exiles of the famed French conqueror. The collection includes many objects that belonged to Emperor Napoleon I, clothes worn by his son Napoleon II, King of Rome, and holy images from his exile on St Helena.

The Napoleonic epic is evoked through some very personal items such as the hat worn by the Emperor at Marengo, his red leather desk blotter, the watch he wore during the Russian campaign, his signature at the bottom of a letter and so on. As for the Napoleonic Wars there are numerous related items as well such as cannonballs from the battle of Austerlitz, a wide variety of weapons including the saber of Marshal Pierre Augereau and the battalion flag from the island of Elba. Aside from the Napoleonic items there is also a great deal of historical material related to Monaco itself. On the magnificent mezzanine floor there is, on display, the Charter of Independence of Monaco given by the royal assent of King Louis XII of France, a letter written by the famous French King Louis XIV to HSH Prince Antoine I of Monaco, a collection of rare coins from Monegasque history, a similar collection of stamps and a display of the various uniforms of the Prince of Monaco’s soldiers worn throughout the centuries.

The museum is located at the Princely Palace (not in Monte Carlo as is sometimes said) and is open most days other than holidays and is closed from November 12 to December 16. Current admission is 4 euros for adults and 2 euros for children ages 8-14. Groups have a special rate of 3 euros. A little money can also be saved by grouping admission to the museum together with the tour of the apartments of the Princely Palace. The Princely Family has a great deal of history in connection to Napoleon, several Princes of Monaco serving in the French Imperial Army and one, the future Prince Honore V, served as equerry to the Empress Josephine. The history of the Grimaldis and the Napoleonic era can be seen a little more detail in this post.

Fort Antoine

Fort Antoine was built on the northeastern tip of The Rock of Monaco by HSH Prince Antoine I during the threat of invasion during the War of Spanish Succession. He sold family heirlooms and melted down his own silver and gold to pay for the new fortifications to ensure the safety of his small country. Prickly bushes and cactus were planted along the base of the walls to serve as natural obstructions. The primary fortifications were built in 1709 but much more work was done. Huge gates at the approach were constructed, the cliffs were sheered and an underground barracks was built and a drawbridge was added by the last year of the war in 1714. The feared attack, however, never came and over time Fort Antoine began to lose its purely military, defensive function. Today there are pittosporum hedges rather than parapets and the cannon are only fired in salutes to mark joyous occasions in the history of the principality.

Time, neglect and other priorities had caused Fort Antoine to deteriorate considerably by the twentieth century. During World War II, when Monaco was occupied by the Axis forces, the major buildings were fortunate to remain unscathed amidst the numerous Allied air attacks. The harbor, La Condamine and neighboring Beausoleil were bombed in 1944 and the area of Fort Antoine was damaged. The underground tunnels Prince Antoine I had built served as bomb shelters for the frightened Monegasque population. After the war in 1954 HSH Prince Rainier III ordered a complete refurbishment of Fort Antoine, both to repair and to redesign the fortress for a more pleasant, non-military purpose. The stout walls, watchtowers and gun emplacements remain but the interior is now an open-air theater with cannonball pyramids decorating the stage to match the martial surroundings.

Today Fort Antoine is famous for its shows rather than its ramparts. The theater offers 350 seats in semi-circle stepped rows. As it is an outdoor theater one can still get a good show with a good pair of glasses rather than a seat up front. Shows, musical performances and the like are mostly held in the summer though when not in use there is no price for admittance and it is a rather scenic place to take in the view amidst the historical surroundings. It is only on special occasions such as the births of Princess Caroline, Prince Albert and Princess Stephanie that the Prince’s soldiers man the walls to fire off cannon salutes in honor of the new arrivals. Hopefully we will soon hear them firing again in honor of the arrival of the next Princess of Monaco.

Chateau Grimaldi

Seigneur Rainier I is best known as the founding father, so to speak, of the Princely Family of Monaco. He was the first official Lord of Monaco but spent much of his time in France where, as readers of this blog will know, he became a grand-admiral of France for his contribution during the wars of King Philippe IV against England and Flanders, particularly the great naval victory in Zeeland in August of 1304 where he captured the Flemish admiral Guy de Namur whom he carried in triumph back to Paris. However, he was also, in addition to being Lord of Monaco, the Lord of Cagnes and it was as Cagnes-sur-Mer, in what is now the Alps-Maritimes department in France, that he built the formidable Chateau Grimaldi.
Standing tall and imposing on a hill overlooking the town, the castle was built from local stone with fortified walls, bastions, towers, an imposing keep all centered around a triangular courtyard. There had been fortifications on the hill going back to the Roman Empire and even the ancient Greeks before Seigneur Rainier I built his castle there in 1309. Later, during the reign of King Louis XIII, the castle was modified to be a more livable residence rather than simply a military structure. During that time the artist Genois Carlone painted the great hall of the chateau with a scene of the fall of Phaeton from Greek mythology.

Today the Chateau Grimaldi still stands, to a large extent as it was when Rainier I of Monaco built it but with a more peaceful occupation. Officially known as the Grimaldi Castle Museum it houses an impressive art collection including pieces of mostly contemporary and modern art. It is safe to say that a fighting sailor like Rainier I would be quite surprised to see his imposing fortress used to display modern art.

The Princely Palace of Monaco

The Princely Palace of Monaco is one of the oldest monarchial homes in the world that is still in use today. Just as it has been for centuries past the Princely Palace is still the official residence of the Monegasque sovereign and, as such, is the heart of the political and social life of Monaco. Part of the unique beauty of the palace is the blending of styles, part modern Mediterranean palace, part medieval fortress, sharing Italian and French styles as well as others. This all goes back to the palace being originally built as a military fortress, a castle, by the Genoese republic in 1191. In 1297 the castle was taken by the House of Grimaldi but the transition from military bulwark to princely palace took a long time.

Over the centuries the Princely Palace that was once a castle was attacked many times, fought over in numerous small wars including Monaco and often changed hands. Seigneur Charles I of Monaco (r. 1331-1357) expanded the fortifications and constructed new buildings which saw the first shift in style from that of a military base to a residential home. Further expansions were made under Lords Lambert and Jean II, however, battles and skirmishes continued off and on until a lasting sense of peace and security was established by the alignment with the Kingdom of France. That, of course, was during the reign of HSH Prince Honore II.

A man of refined taste and a Francophone, Honore II embellished the palace with the works of some of the greatest artists of the Renaissance period and more or less completed the change from castle to palace. By the time his reign ended he had made it a place any French or Italian prince would be comfortable in, as able to entertain as to defend. In the years that followed the Princely Palace was further refined and decorated until it became known as the ‘Versailles of the Mediterranean’. Louis I spent lavishly on furnishings, his son Antoine more on defensive works as the threat of war crept closer to Monaco again. However, with the rise of Louis XIV in France and the importance attached to the court at Versailles a long period ensued in which most Princes of Monaco spent most of their time in France rather that at home.

Some additional work was done during the reign of Honore III, though he was also often absent, and it was during his reign that the Duke of York died in the palace, giving his name to one of the bedrooms. However, toward the end of his reign the outbreak of the French Revolution brought ruin and occupation to Monaco. The Princely Family was arrested in France, the country occupied, the palace looted and later turned into a military hospital and poor house for the revolutionaries. When the Revolution and Napoleonic Wars had passed and the House of Grimaldi was restored the palace had deteriorated considerably and some areas had to be demolished and replaced with new structures.

The rebuilding and restoration increased under Prince Charles III who was the next monarch to actually spend most of his time in Monaco. He went to great lengths to try to recover as much as possible of the art work and family treasures that had been stolen and dispersed at the time of the Revolution. Subsequent monarchs, however, spent much of their time abroad and the palace lingered in the rather gloomy atmosphere it acquired during the long period of Charles’ infirmity. This did not change until the arrival of Prince Albert I and his second wife, Princess Alice. Although the sovereign was often at sea, Princess Alice put her own touch on the palace and society life in Monaco as she encouraged art, learning, music and dance. The place became something of a haven for intellectuals alongside the flow of visitors of every stripe to the booming casino at Monte Carlo.

Prince Louis II did not spend much of his life in Monaco, being in the field with the French army most of the time, his most lasting legacy being the opening of the Napoleonic museum at the palace where the bathing pavilion of Honore II had once stood. However, when his successor Rainier III married the American film icon Grace Kelly the Princely Palace was steadily lived in again and, for the first time in a long time, became a family home. Princess Grace redecorated, which drew some snide comments about what were perceived as California styles, but such attitudes did not last long. Rainier and Grace also oversaw the restoration of much of the priceless artwork at the palace while carrying out their own renovations, mostly geared toward making the palace a more practical home. It was also under Rainier III that the palace became part office as the home base of the big business that was the Grimaldis’ Monaco.

Today, although again often traveling, Prince Albert II still maintains his formal residence at the Princely Palace which, in recent years, has become as much a tourist attraction as many other Monegasque landmarks. State rooms are open to the public in the summer months, parts have the appearance of a museum, but the smart changing of the guard every day reminds all that it is still a monarchial residence.