 hough
the English aristocracy of the mid-19th century somewhat
arrogantly like to claim the Riviera for themselves,
the majority of the towns along the coast of the Mediterranean have a truly ancient history - and Nice is no exception.
The citizens of Nice trace their city's name back to
the Greek Nikaia- City of Victory. Though other accounts
say that it was founded by the Marseillais in 350 BC.
Whichever is the closer to truth matters not. Nice has
been created and shaped by successive waves of foreigners
who occupied the eastern end of the Bay of Angels facing
Antibes . Of course, the Romans had their time in Nice
(as they did in most of Europe). After their decline
and fall, the city became part of Provence until 1388.
Then the Savoies of Switzerland and Northern Italy took
over. In 1543, the NiÆois had an opportunity to demonstrate
their sense of humour. In order to frighten off advance
guards of an invading Turkish army, a common laundress
Catherine Segurane, climbed a ladder and showed them
her vast and bare derriere. With surprising good sense,
the Turks retreated and the new heroine of Nice was
adopted as the patron saint of the city. No simple virgins
for the Nicois.
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In
mid-19th century while Nice still belonged to Italy,
King Immanuel III hit on a plan to enrich his country
the easy way. He sold Nice to Napoleon III in exchange
for French financial and military help. Although the
deal was done secretly the NiÆois were allowed to vote
so they could not say that they were being sold down
the river. Although that famous statesman Garibaldi - who was born in Nice - urged them to vote against
the deal, there was an overwhelming majority in favour.
The voting booths were manned by units of the French
army and this may well have affected the outcome. So
the English were by no means the first settlers here.
But, when they did arrive, they brought a prosperity
to the NiÆois never before known. Even before the end
of the 18th century there was no shortage of English
food and drink. The English built houses, and because
they were religious they built churches. Soon they would
need a cemetery - and so the place expanded. But during
the winter of 1821-22 an unusually sharp frost prohibited
more building and there was much unemployment. The English
church demonstrated its practicality by raising funds
and putting many of the unemployed to work to |
build
a walkway by the sea. This is how the Promenade
des Anglais came to be built - and named.
After the incorporation of Nice into France, the railway from Marseilles was extended.
That of course really put Nice on the map, and as a
result, Nice became the first city to have a tourist-based
economy. Until then, people travelled for economic,
religious, or cultural reasons. Now, for the first time
people travelled for pleasure. They came south to "get
away from it all" and "to get away with everything".
The modern tourist industry was born.
The eagle's head on the coat of arms, which had swivelled
from left to right depending on whether Nice was owned
by France or Italy, now became permanently facing to
the right, and so it remains to this day - to the relief
of the Nicois. In heraldic conventions, a left-facing eagle
denotes an illegitimate branch of the family.
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