Monte Carlo (/ˌmɒntiˈkɑːrloʊ/MON-tee KAR-loh, Italian:[ˈmonteˈkarlo]; French: Monte-Carlo[mɔ̃tekaʁlo], or colloquially Monte-Carl[mɔ̃tekaʁl]; Monégasque: Munte Carlu[ˈmuŋteˈkaɾlu]; lit.'Mount Charles') is officially an administrative area of Monaco, specifically the ward of Monte Carlo/Spélugues, where the Monte Carlo Casino is located. Informally, the name also refers to a larger district, the Monte Carlo Quarter (corresponding to the former municipality of Monte Carlo), which besides Monte Carlo/Spélugues also includes the wards of La Rousse/Saint Roman, Larvotto/Bas Moulins and Saint Michel. The permanent population of the ward of Monte Carlo is about 3,500, while that of the quarter is about 15,000. Monaco has four traditional quarters. From west to east they are: Fontvieille (the newest), Monaco-Ville (the oldest), La Condamine, and Monte Carlo.
Monte Carlo is situated on a prominent escarpment at the base of the Maritime Alps along the French Riviera. Near the quarter's western end is the "world-famous Place du Casino, the gambling center ... that has made Monte Carlo an international byword for the extravagant display and reckless dispersal of wealth".[1] It is also the location of the Hôtel de Paris, Café de Paris and Salle Garnier (the casino theatre which is the home of the Opéra de Monte-Carlo). The quarter's eastern part includes the community of Larvotto with Monaco's only public beach, as well as its new convention center (the Grimaldi Forum), and the Monte-Carlo Bay Hotel & Resort. At the quarter's eastern border, one crosses into the French town of Beausoleil (sometimes referred to as Monte-Carlo-Supérieur), and 8 kilometres (5 mi) to its east is the western border of Italy.
Charles III of Monaco was responsible for turning the Monte Carlo district and Monaco into a thriving town.
In 1856, Charles III of Monaco granted a concession to Napoleon Langlois and Albert Aubert, to establish a sea-bathing facility for the treatment of various diseases, and to build a German-style casino.[2]
St Charles Church, Monte Carlo
The initial casino opened in La Condamine in 1862, but was unsuccessful. It relocated several times, before reaching its present location in the "Les Spélugues" (The Caves) area of Monte Carlo. Success came slowly, largely because Monaco was inaccessible from much of Europe. The railway, installed in 1868, brought with it an influx of people, and Monte Carlo grew in wealth.[2]
Saint-Charles Church on Monte Carlo's Avenue Sainte-Charles was completed in 1883. It was restored in its centenary year.[3][4]
The municipality of Monte Carlo was created in 1911, when the constitution divided the principality of Monaco into three municipalities. Monte Carlo encompassed the existing neighborhoods of La Rousse/Saint Roman, Larvotto/Bas Moulins, and Saint Michel. The municipalities merged in 1917, after accusations that the government used them to "divide and conquer". Since then, they are wards (quartiers). Today, Monaco is divided into 10 wards, with an eleventh planned (but currently postponed) to encompass land reclaimed from the sea (see the "Administrative divisions" section of Monaco for additional details).
Monte Carlo has an area of 28.14 hectares (or 0.28 square kilometers) and faces the Mediterranean Sea, bordered on the west by Moneghetti and La Condamine, on the north by Saint Michel and on the east by La Rousse and Larvotto.
Monte Carlo is home to a ATP Masters 1000 tennis tournament during the clay court season usually played during the end of March through mid to late April. Monte Carlo is a popular tax haven for many tennis professionals and home to many active and retired athletes.
Monte Carlo is host to most of the Circuit de Monaco, on which the Formula OneMonaco 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 the Monaco International Auto Show (Fr: Salon International de l'Automobile de Monaco[9]), 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. The Monte Carlo Rally is one of the longest running and most respected car rallies; from 1973 to 2008 and again from 2012, it marks the start of World Rally Championship season, having also served as the curtain-raiser for the Intercontinental Rally Challenge between 2009 and 2011. The rally, however, takes place outside the Monte Carlo quarter and is run mostly on French roads.
Tourism
Monte Carlo has been visited by royalty as well as the public and movie stars for decades. Monte Carlo is one of Europe's leading tourist resorts, although many of the key tourist destinations are 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 in Monaco-Ville.
The Opéra de Monte-Carlo or Salle Garnier was built to designs of the architect Charles Garnier, who also designed the Paris opera house now known as the Palais Garnier. Although much smaller, the Salle Garnier is very similar in style with decorations in red and gold, and frescoes and sculptures all around the auditorium. It was inaugurated on 25 January 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.
The hotel has 106 rooms divided into four groups based on type of view, decoration and luxury.[10] The Exclusive City View offers 20 rooms, the Superior Courtyard has 29 large rooms, the Exclusive Sea View 59 and the Exclusive Casino has six.
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.[10] There is also one Presidential suite.[11]
In October 2014, a renovation project began, to create a garden courtyard, add a new spa, fitness and pool area, exceptional suites, and a “rooftop villa” with a private garden and pool.[12]
Monte Carlo is featured in Edith Wharton's novel The House of Mirth (1905) as a backdrop for the leisure activities of New York's upper class in the early 20th century.
The first few chapters of the Gothic novel Rebecca (1938) are set in Monte Carlo.
La Dame de Monte Carlo is a monologue for soprano and orchestra composed by Francis Poulenc in 1961 based on a poem from Jean Cocteau’s Théâtre de poche.[16]
The Bold and the Beautiful series (1987–) featured a number of episodes filmed on location in the city in 2016 and 2017. It is the location for the annual Spencer Summit.
Video games
The Gran Turismo series often features Monte Carlo.
^Hough, John (2 April 1990), A Ghost in Monte Carlo (Drama, Romance), Sarah Miles, Oliver Reed, Christopher Plummer, Samantha Eggar, Gainsborough Pictures, The Grade Company, Turner Pictures (I), retrieved 28 February 2021
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