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Menton

Menton (French: [mɑ̃tɔ̃]; Occitan: [menˈta], written Menton in classical norm or Mentan in Mistralian norm; Italian: Mentone [menˈtoːne]) is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region on the French Riviera, close to the Italian border.

Menton
The harbour of Menton, with the basilica of Saint-Michel-Archange beyond, viewed from the Quai Napoléon III
Location of Menton
Menton
Menton
Coordinates: 43°46′30″N 7°30′00″E / 43.775000°N 07.50°E / 43.775000; 07.50Coordinates: 43°46′30″N 7°30′00″E / 43.775000°N 07.50°E / 43.775000; 07.50
CountryFrance
RegionProvence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
DepartmentAlpes-Maritimes
ArrondissementNice
CantonMenton
IntercommunalityCA Riviera Française
Government
 • Mayor (2022–2026) Yves Juhel[1] (LR)
Area
1
14.05 km2 (5.42 sq mi)
Population
 (Jan. 2019)[2]
30,525
 • Density2,200/km2 (5,600/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code
06083 /06500
Elevation0–774 m (0–2,539 ft)
(avg. 16 m or 52 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Menton has always been a frontier town. Since the end of the 14th century, it was on the border between County of Nice, held by the Duke of Savoy, and Republic of Genoa. It was an exclave of the Principality of Monaco until the disputed French plebiscite of 1860, when it was added to France. It had been always a fashionable tourist centre with grand mansions and gardens. Its temperate Mediterranean climate is especially favourable to the citrus industry, with which it is strongly identified.

Etymology

Although the name's spelling and pronunciation in French are identical to those for the word that means "chin", there does not seem to be any link with this French word. According to the French geographer Ernest Nègre, the name Menton comes from the Roman name Mento.[3] However, it is possible that the name of the city comes from Mons Ottonis (reconstituted) from the name of Otton II, the count of Ventimiglia from 1162-1200.[4] In Mentonasc, the city's name is Mentan (pronounced [mẽˈtã]), and in Italian Mentone ([menˈtoːne]).

An inhabitant of Menton, un mentonnais or un mentonasque in French, would be O mentonasc in the local dialect.

History

The Menton area has been inhabited since the Paleolithic era, and is the site of the original "Grimaldi Man" find of early modern humans, as well as remains of Neanderthals and Cro-Magnons.[5] In Roman times, the Via Julia Augusta, a road connecting Placentia (now Piacenza) with Arelates (now Arles) passed through Menton, running along the Rue Longue in the old town.[6] The first major settlement occurred during the 11th century CE, when the count of Ventimiglia constructed the Château de Puypin (Podium Pinum) on the Pépin hill, north and west of the modern town centre. During the 13th century, the seigneury of Puypin fell to the Vento family of Genoa who built a new castle along the Roman road, now the site of the Vieux-Château cemetery, providing the core around which the current town grew. Menton was thus incorporated into the Republic of Genoa. The first mention of Menton dates from 21 July 1262, in the peace treaty between Charles of Anjou and Genoa. Its position on the border between the Angevin-ruled Provence and the Republic of Genoa, which at the time claimed Monaco as its western limit, made it a coveted location.

 
Menton, as part of Monaco, in 1664.

Acquired in 1346 by Charles Grimaldi, Lord of Monaco, Menton was ruled by the princes of Monaco until the French Revolution.[citation needed] Annexed during the Revolution, Menton remained part of France through the First Empire. It belonged to the district of Sanremo in the department of Alpes-Maritimes, which at the time included Monaco and Sanremo.

In 1814, Menton was included in a reconstituted principality of Monaco which, after Napoleon's Hundred Days in 1815, became a protectorate of the king of Sardinia. The princes of Monaco were obliged to do homage to the king for Menton, although not for Monaco itself.[citation needed]

 
Map of the territory of the free cities of Menton and Roquebrune in 1848.[7]

In 1848, Menton, along with its neighbour Roquebrune, seceded from Monaco, due at least in part to a tax imposed on lemon exports.[8] They proclaimed themselves a "free city" during the 1848 revolutions related to the Italian Risorgimento, then two years later placed themselves under the protection of the Kingdom of Sardinia where they were administered by the House of Savoy for ten years.[9]

The Treaty of Turin concluded on 24 March 1860 between the Kingdom of Mauricio and Napoleon III's France called for the annexation of the County of Nice to France, subject to a plebiscite, as a reward for French assistance in Italy's war against Austria. The plebiscite, with universal adult male suffrage, was held on 15 and 16 April 1860, and resulted in an overwhelming vote in favour of annexation (833 for versus 54 against in Menton and Roquebrune),[10] despite complaints of rigged elections from, among others, Nice-born Italian nationalist Giuseppe Garibaldi.[citation needed] The County of Nice was thus annexed to France that June, and Napoleon III paid 4 million francs in compensation to the prince of Monaco, who renounced his rights in perpetuity on 2 February 1861.[10]

The publication of Winter and Spring on the Shores of the Mediterranean (1861) by the English doctor James Henry Bennett had a profound effect on Menton, making it a destination for sufferers of tuberculosis.[11] By the end of the 19th century, tourism was an important factor in Menton's growth. The town was popular with British and Russian aristocrats who built many of the hotels, villas, and palaces which still grace Menton today. Many of these hotels and palaces were pressed into service as hospitals during World War I to allow injured troops to recuperate in a pleasant climate.

 
Sailing ships in Menton harbour, photograph by Jean Gilletta, early 1900s

Menton was the only sizable settlement captured by Italy during its invasion of France in June 1940. Following the armistice of 22 June 1940, two-thirds of the territory of the commune was annexed by Italy as terra irredenta. The annexation lasted until 8 September 1943.

Although officially returned to Vichy France, Menton was in fact occupied by Nazi Germany until its liberation by American and Canadian troops of the First Special Service Force on 8 September 1944.[12]

Geography

 
The port and the old part of town
 
View of the port of Menton

Menton, nicknamed the Pearl of France, is located on the Mediterranean Sea at the Franco-Italian border, just across from the Ligurian town of Ventimiglia.[13] Menton station has rail connections to Paris, Marseille, Cannes, Antibes, Nice and Ventimiglia. The smaller Menton-Garavan station is situated between Menton and Ventimiglia.

The fishing industry was devastated in the 1980s and 1990s due to a combination of overfishing and hypoxia in the bay. At the time, the devastation was erroneously attributed to the dubiously nicknamed "killer algae" Caulerpa taxifolia (a non-native Asian tropical green alga first discovered in the Mediterranean Sea adjacent to the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco in 1984) spread throughout the coastal sea floor. Later, sound scientific findings revealed that the seaweed was adept at absorbing pollutants and excess nutrients, actually aiding the recovery of native Posidonia sea grass[14] and enhancing local fish populations and overall biodiversity.[15]

Climate

 
1906 poster of Menton by Hugo d'Alesi

Menton has a very mild subtropical microclimate with an average of 316 clear or partially cloudy days annually. Under the Köppen system, Menton features a hot-summer mediterranean climate (Csa). However, the milder winters (on average) and the warmer nights in summer (on average), compared to the rest of the French Mediterranean coastal area, provide Menton with a particular micro-climate, with significant warm-summer mediterranean climate (Csb) influences and characteristics, like coastal Southern California (usually experienced between Nice through Monaco and Menton, toward the Italian border town of Ventimiglia and up to San Remo) that is favourable to hardy clementines, mandarin oranges, satsuma orange, tangerines, oranges and lemons (SRA 625 is protected Citron de Menton variety) groves, hence one of the town's symbols, the lemon. Winter frosts are extremely rare but may occasionally occur every few years at the ground level and snow falls on average once every 10 years. Likewise, summer temperatures are relatively moderate with day temperatures of 28-32, but rarely rising above 33 °C.[16]

Climate data for Menton (Alpes-Maritimes department, France), 2009-2016 temperature data only[a]
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °F (°C) 64.9
(18.3)
68.9
(20.5)
74.1
(23.4)
81.0
(27.2)
88.5
(31.4)
92.7
(33.7)
95.7
(35.4)
97.7
(36.5)
92.8
(33.8)
83.4
(28.6)
76.7
(24.8)
68.0
(20.0)
97.7
(36.5)
Mean maximum °F (°C) 62.1
(16.7)
64.2
(17.9)
69.3
(20.7)
76.3
(24.6)
81.3
(27.4)
89.2
(31.8)
91.2
(32.9)
93.2
(34.0)
88.0
(31.1)
79.2
(26.2)
72.0
(22.2)
65.5
(18.6)
94.6
(34.8)
Average high °F (°C) 58.1
(14.5)
60.5
(15.8)
62.6
(17.0)
68.1
(20.1)
71.2
(21.8)
78.8
(26.0)
86.2
(30.1)
86.4
(30.2)
80.7
(27.1)
71.2
(21.8)
64.5
(18.1)
59.3
(15.2)
68.9
(20.5)
Average low °F (°C) 45.3
(7.4)
44.1
(6.7)
48.7
(9.3)
53.2
(11.8)
58.1
(14.5)
64.8
(18.2)
70.0
(21.1)
70.7
(21.5)
66.4
(19.1)
59.5
(15.3)
53.1
(11.7)
48.0
(8.9)
56.8
(13.8)
Mean minimum °F (°C) 37.9
(3.3)
36.5
(2.5)
40.3
(4.6)
46.6
(8.1)
50.4
(10.2)
57.4
(14.1)
64.0
(17.8)
63.5
(17.5)
59.0
(15.0)
48.7
(9.3)
44.4
(6.9)
40.5
(4.7)
35.1
(1.7)
Record low °F (°C) 32.2
(0.1)
30.0
(−1.1)
36.9
(2.7)
43.0
(6.1)
46.6
(8.1)
52.5
(11.4)
58.3
(14.6)
56.7
(13.7)
54.1
(12.3)
39.2
(4.0)
39.9
(4.4)
30.9
(−0.6)
30.0
(−1.1)
Source: Météo Climat BZH[17]
  1. ^ Mean monthly maxima and minima (i.e. the expected highest and lowest temperature readings at any point during the year or given month) calculated based on data at said location from 2009 to 2016. Extremes from 2009 to 2016 as well.

Townscape

Menton is known for its gardens, including the Jardin Serre de la Madone, the Jardin botanique exotique de Menton ('Le Val Rahmeh'), the Fontana Rosa, the Maria Serena garden, and the modernist gardens of Les Colombières.[18] Le Val Rahmeh was established in 1905 by Englishman Sir Percy Radcliffe, the first owner of the gardens, and named for his wife. Villa Fontana Rosa was built in 1922 by Blasco Ibáñez, a Spanish novelist, and the gardens of the villa are now open to the public.

  • The baroque basilica of Saint-Michel-Archange, with its belltower, was built in 1619 by the Genoese architect Lorenzo Lavagna.
  • The Bastion Museum, which features decoration by Jean Cocteau, is located in the Bastion of the port of Menton. The bastion, built overwater in 1636 as an advance defense for the port by the Princes of Monaco, is now located at the shoreline.
  • The wedding room at the Mairie (town hall) was painted in the 1950s by Cocteau, transforming it into a giant work of art.
  • Menton is home to at least half a dozen beaches.
  • Menton is notable for its Palissy majolica pottery depicting lemons.
  • The historic covered market was built in 1898 by local architect Adrien Rey. The market is open every day from 5 am until 1 pm in the summer; in the winter, it opens at 5:30 am. Over 30 kiosks both inside and around the market sell local and imported vegetables. The Belle Époque structure was one of buildings constructed by the architect in the region.[19]
  • Next to the beach and the covered market is the Jean Cocteau Museum. It opened in 2011 and is close to the Bastion Museum.[20]
  • Mirazur is a French haute cuisine restaurant with three Michelin Guide stars.[21] The World's 50 Best Restaurants list ranks Mirazur as the best restaurant in the world.[22]

Population

Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
1793 3,060—    
1800 3,289+1.04%
1806 3,336+0.24%
1858 4,837+0.72%
1861 4,904+0.46%
1866 5,699+3.05%
1872 6,644+2.59%
1876 7,819+4.16%
1881 11,000+7.07%
1886 9,387−3.12%
1891 9,050−0.73%
1896 9,044−0.01%
1901 9,944+1.92%
1906 13,029+5.55%
1911 18,001+6.68%
YearPop.±% p.a.
1921 18,645+0.35%
1926 22,604+3.93%
1931 23,417+0.71%
1936 21,703−1.51%
1946 13,864−4.38%
1954 17,109+2.66%
1962 19,904+1.91%
1968 25,040+3.90%
1975 25,143+0.06%
1982 25,086−0.03%
1990 29,141+1.89%
1999 28,812−0.13%
2007 28,683−0.06%
2012 29,073+0.27%
2017 28,958−0.08%
Source: EHESS[23] and INSEE (1968-2017)[24]

Education

Primary and secondary schools

Public nurseries/Preschools include:[25]

  • Centre-ville/Vieille ville area: Adrien Camaret and the Section enfantine de l'Hôtel de Ville
  • Borrigo: René Cassin, Germaine Coty, Robert Debré, and Manon des Sources
  • Careï: Careï and Saint-Exupéry
  • Garavan: Section enfantine Alphonse Daudet

Public primary schools include:[26]

  • Centre-ville/Vieille ville area: élémentaire Frédéric Mistral and primaire de l'Hôtel de Ville
  • Borrigo: élémentaire Anne Frank - André Guillevin, élémentaire Condamine Centenaire, and élementaire Marcel Pagnol
  • Careï: élémentaire Careï Jeanne d'Arc and élémentaire Saint-Exupéry
  • Garavan: primaire Alphonse Daudet

There are two public junior high schools, Guillaume Vento and André Maurois.[27] The two public sixth-form colleges/senior high schools are Lycée Pierre et Marie Curie and Lycée Professionnel Hôtelier Paul Valéry.[28]

The private Institution Notre Dame du Sacré Cœur has the Villa Blanche preschool, primary, and junior high school in the Centre-ville area.[25][26][27]

Colleges and universities

  • The Institut d'Etudes politiques de Paris, the leading French university in social and political sciences, also known as Sciences Po, hosts a regional Middle East and Mediterranean campus in Menton since 2005.[29]

Mentonasc language

The Mentonasc dialect is currently spoken by about 10% of the population in Menton, Roquebrune, and the surrounding villages.[citation needed] It is taught within the French educational system, as a variety of Niçard (i.e. Provençal and Occitan). However, in nineteenth-century linguistic descriptions,[30] as well as in contemporary linguistic scholarship,[31][32][33] Mentonasc is described as an intermediate between Niçard and the Intemelio dialect of Ligurian. Some scholars insist that Mentonasc is, at its base, a Ligurian dialect, with French influences coming only later,.[34]

Annual town events

The Fête du Citron (Lemon Festival) takes place every February. The event follows a given theme each decade; past themes include Viva España, Disney, Neverland, and India. The carnival lasts a few days, with different bands passing through Menton's streets on foot or on truck trailers. The Casino Gardens in the centre of town are decorated in the theme of the festival, using lemons and oranges to cover the exhibits, and huge temporary statues are built and covered with citrus fruit.

The Casino Gardens are also the location for Menton's Christmas Festival.

The Menton Classical Musical Festival is also held every year in the centre of the old town.

Sport and recreation

Menton has a football team, Rapid de Menton, who play at the stadium Stade Lucien Rhein. Menton also has a rugby team, Le rugby Club Webb Ellis de Menton.[35]

There is a municipal swimming pool, Piscine Alex Jany.[36]

The town is famous in the cycling world as being the start of the climb of the Col de la Madone de Gorbio (generally shortened to Col de la Madone),[37] which rises to 925 metres and was (in)famously used by Lance Armstrong to train for the Tour de France; many professionals based in neighbouring Monaco still use the climb for training and testing.

Menton was also the location of a international tennis tournament the Riviera Championships that ran from 1902 to 1976. It was hosted by the Menton Lawn Tennis Club. The event was part of the French Riviera circuit tour.

Notable residents

 
Émile Appay – Menton

Notables who were born, lived, or died in Menton include:

Living people

Historical figures

International relations

 
Menton

Menton is twinned with:[42][43]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Répertoire national des élus: les maires" (in French). data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises. 4 May 2022.
  2. ^ "Populations légales 2019". The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 29 December 2021.
  3. ^ Ernest Nègre, General Toponym of France : Etymology of 35,000 place names, Geneva : Librairie Droz, 1990. Volume I : Pre-Celtic, Celtic, and Roman names, § 11 118, p 664 (in French).
  4. ^ "Fondation de Menton".
  5. ^ Émile Rivière, Découverte d'un Squelette Humain de l'Époque Paléolithique Dans les Cavernes des Baoussé-Rousse dites Grottes de Menton (Discovery of a Human Skeleton from the Paleolithic in the Caverns of Baoussé-Rousse also known as the Grottes de Menton), (J.-B. Baillière et Fils, Paris, 1873) (in French)
  6. ^ La rue Longue (Official site of the town of Menton, accessed April 2009) (in French)
  7. ^ Ermanno Amicucci. Nizza e l'Italia. Mondadori editore. Milano, 1939.
  8. ^ Menton on the French Riviera (accessed April 2009)
  9. ^ Ermanno Amicucci. Nizza e l'Italia. p 58-61
  10. ^ a b cahoon, ben. "Monaco". www.worldstatesmen.org.
  11. ^ Ted Jones (15 December 2007). The French Riviera: A Literary Guide for Travellers. Tauris Parke Paperbacks. ISBN 978-1-84511-455-8.
  12. ^ La libération de Menton (The Liberation of Menton, Official site of the town of Menton, Accessed April 2009) (in French)
  13. ^ "Menton, "perle de la France"" (in French). Office de Tourisme de Menton.
  14. ^ Jaubert, J. M., J. R. M. Chisholm, G. Passeron-Seitre, D. Ducrot, H. T. Ripley, and L. Roy. 1999. No deleterious alterations in Posidonia beds in the Bay of Menton (France) eight years after Caulerpa taxifolia colonization. Journal of Phycology 35:1113-1119.
  15. ^ Francour, P., M. Harmelin-Vivien, J. G. Harmelin, and J. duClerc. 1995. Impact of Caulerpa taxifolia colonization on the littoral ichthyofauna of northwestern Mediterranean. Hydrobiologia 300-301:345-353
  16. ^ . Archived from the original on 2017-10-19. Retrieved 2017-03-15.
  17. ^ "Station Name: MENTON (FRANCE)". March 2017. Retrieved 2017-03-15.
  18. ^ . Menton – Gardens. Menton.com. Archived from the original on 6 December 2013. Retrieved 17 November 2013.
  19. ^ "Belle Epoque in Menton". Riviera Kitchen. 2011-09-29. Retrieved 2013-03-26.
  20. ^ a b Edwards, Natasha (16 October 2012). "Menton, France: On the Jean Cocteau museum trail". The Daily Telegraph.
  21. ^ "Mirazur – Menton - a MICHELIN Guide Restaurant". MICHELIN Guide. Retrieved 2020-10-27.
  22. ^ "The Worlds 50 Best Restaurants - The 1-50 Winners List". UI - 50B - Restaurants - GLOBAL. Retrieved 2020-10-27.
  23. ^ Des villages de Cassini aux communes d'aujourd'hui: Commune data sheet Menton, EHESS. (in French)
  24. ^ Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE
  25. ^ a b "Les écoles maternelles." Menton. Retrieved on 25 September 2018.
  26. ^ a b "Les écoles primaires." Menton. Retrieved on 25 September 2018.
  27. ^ a b "Les Collèges." Menton. Retrieved on 25 September 2018.
  28. ^ "Les Lycées." Menton. Retrieved on 25 September 2018.
  29. ^ "Menton campus | Sciences Po Undergraduate College". menton.html. February 24, 2017.
  30. ^ James Bruny Andrews, Il dialetto di Mentone, in quanto egli tramezzi ideologicamente tra il provenzale e il ligure (The dialect of Menton, in which it is ideologically intermediate between Provençal and Ligurian) in Archivio Glottologico Italiano XII, 1890/92, pp. 97-106. (in English)
  31. ^ J.-P. Dalbera, Interférences entre provençal et ligurien dans la génèse du système morphologique mentonnais (Interferences between Provençal and Ligurian in the genesis of the Mentonnais morphological system) in Bulletin du Centre de romanistique et de latinité tardive 4-5, Nice, 1989, pp. 89-97.
  32. ^ W. Forner L'Intemelia linguistica, in Intemelion 1, Sanremo, 1995, pp. 67-82. (in Italian)
  33. ^ Le mentonnais entre toutes les chaises ? in Lexique Français-Mentonnais (Caserio & al. 2001) (in French)
  34. ^ Werner Forner.À propos du ligurien intémélien - La côte, l'arrière-pays, Travaux du Cercle linguistique de Nice, 7-8, 1986, pp. 29-62.
  35. ^ "Rugby Club Webb Ellis Menton : présentation des règles du rugby, boutique maillot de rugby". Rugbyclub-webbellis.com. 2012-12-15. Retrieved 2013-03-26.
  36. ^ "Piscine Alex Jany." Menton. Retrieved on 25 September 2018.
  37. ^ "Col de la Madone - Menton". climbbybike.com. Retrieved 2021-11-16.
  38. ^ Base Mérimée: Domaine des Colombières, Ministère français de la Culture. (in French)
  39. ^ Foreman, Liza (24 August 2013). "More Than Just a Famous Garden". The New York Times.
  40. ^ "Obituary: Lesley Blanch". The Guardian. 10 May 2007.
  41. ^ Nichol, John (1904). "Thomas Carlyle". Project Gutenberg. Retrieved 2022-08-23.
  42. ^ "Villes jumelées". menton.fr (in French). Menton. Retrieved 2019-11-20.
  43. ^ "Laguna Beach/Menton Relations". lagunabeachsistercities.com. Laguna Beach. Retrieved 2019-11-20.

External links

  • Tourist office website
  • Tourist office website (English version)
  • City council website


menton, confused, with, menston, french, occitan, menˈta, written, classical, norm, mentan, mistralian, norm, italian, menˈtoːne, commune, alpes, maritimes, department, provence, alpes, côte, azur, region, french, riviera, close, italian, border, communethe, h. Not to be confused with Mentone or Menston Menton French mɑ tɔ Occitan menˈta written Menton in classical norm or Mentan in Mistralian norm Italian Mentone menˈtoːne is a commune in the Alpes Maritimes department in the Provence Alpes Cote d Azur region on the French Riviera close to the Italian border MentonCommuneThe harbour of Menton with the basilica of Saint Michel Archange beyond viewed from the Quai Napoleon IIICoat of armsLocation of MentonMentonShow map of FranceMentonShow map of Provence Alpes Cote d AzurCoordinates 43 46 30 N 7 30 00 E 43 775000 N 07 50 E 43 775000 07 50 Coordinates 43 46 30 N 7 30 00 E 43 775000 N 07 50 E 43 775000 07 50CountryFranceRegionProvence Alpes Cote d AzurDepartmentAlpes MaritimesArrondissementNiceCantonMentonIntercommunalityCA Riviera FrancaiseGovernment Mayor 2022 2026 Yves Juhel 1 LR Area114 05 km2 5 42 sq mi Population Jan 2019 2 30 525 Density2 200 km2 5 600 sq mi Time zoneUTC 01 00 CET Summer DST UTC 02 00 CEST INSEE Postal code06083 06500Elevation0 774 m 0 2 539 ft avg 16 m or 52 ft 1 French Land Register data which excludes lakes ponds glaciers gt 1 km2 0 386 sq mi or 247 acres and river estuaries Menton has always been a frontier town Since the end of the 14th century it was on the border between County of Nice held by the Duke of Savoy and Republic of Genoa It was an exclave of the Principality of Monaco until the disputed French plebiscite of 1860 when it was added to France It had been always a fashionable tourist centre with grand mansions and gardens Its temperate Mediterranean climate is especially favourable to the citrus industry with which it is strongly identified Contents 1 Etymology 2 History 3 Geography 3 1 Climate 4 Townscape 5 Population 6 Education 6 1 Primary and secondary schools 6 2 Colleges and universities 7 Mentonasc language 8 Annual town events 9 Sport and recreation 10 Notable residents 10 1 Living people 10 2 Historical figures 11 International relations 12 See also 13 References 14 External linksEtymology EditAlthough the name s spelling and pronunciation in French are identical to those for the word that means chin there does not seem to be any link with this French word According to the French geographer Ernest Negre the name Menton comes from the Roman name Mento 3 However it is possible that the name of the city comes from Mons Ottonis reconstituted from the name of Otton II the count of Ventimiglia from 1162 1200 4 In Mentonasc the city s name is Mentan pronounced mẽˈta and in Italian Mentone menˈtoːne An inhabitant of Menton un mentonnais or un mentonasque in French would be O mentonasc in the local dialect History EditThe Menton area has been inhabited since the Paleolithic era and is the site of the original Grimaldi Man find of early modern humans as well as remains of Neanderthals and Cro Magnons 5 In Roman times the Via Julia Augusta a road connecting Placentia now Piacenza with Arelates now Arles passed through Menton running along the Rue Longue in the old town 6 The first major settlement occurred during the 11th century CE when the count of Ventimiglia constructed the Chateau de Puypin Podium Pinum on the Pepin hill north and west of the modern town centre During the 13th century the seigneury of Puypin fell to the Vento family of Genoa who built a new castle along the Roman road now the site of the Vieux Chateau cemetery providing the core around which the current town grew Menton was thus incorporated into the Republic of Genoa The first mention of Menton dates from 21 July 1262 in the peace treaty between Charles of Anjou and Genoa Its position on the border between the Angevin ruled Provence and the Republic of Genoa which at the time claimed Monaco as its western limit made it a coveted location Menton as part of Monaco in 1664 Acquired in 1346 by Charles Grimaldi Lord of Monaco Menton was ruled by the princes of Monaco until the French Revolution citation needed Annexed during the Revolution Menton remained part of France through the First Empire It belonged to the district of Sanremo in the department of Alpes Maritimes which at the time included Monaco and Sanremo In 1814 Menton was included in a reconstituted principality of Monaco which after Napoleon s Hundred Days in 1815 became a protectorate of the king of Sardinia The princes of Monaco were obliged to do homage to the king for Menton although not for Monaco itself citation needed Map of the territory of the free cities of Menton and Roquebrune in 1848 7 In 1848 Menton along with its neighbour Roquebrune seceded from Monaco due at least in part to a tax imposed on lemon exports 8 They proclaimed themselves a free city during the 1848 revolutions related to the Italian Risorgimento then two years later placed themselves under the protection of the Kingdom of Sardinia where they were administered by the House of Savoy for ten years 9 The Treaty of Turin concluded on 24 March 1860 between the Kingdom of Mauricio and Napoleon III s France called for the annexation of the County of Nice to France subject to a plebiscite as a reward for French assistance in Italy s war against Austria The plebiscite with universal adult male suffrage was held on 15 and 16 April 1860 and resulted in an overwhelming vote in favour of annexation 833 for versus 54 against in Menton and Roquebrune 10 despite complaints of rigged elections from among others Nice born Italian nationalist Giuseppe Garibaldi citation needed The County of Nice was thus annexed to France that June and Napoleon III paid 4 million francs in compensation to the prince of Monaco who renounced his rights in perpetuity on 2 February 1861 10 The publication of Winter and Spring on the Shores of the Mediterranean 1861 by the English doctor James Henry Bennett had a profound effect on Menton making it a destination for sufferers of tuberculosis 11 By the end of the 19th century tourism was an important factor in Menton s growth The town was popular with British and Russian aristocrats who built many of the hotels villas and palaces which still grace Menton today Many of these hotels and palaces were pressed into service as hospitals during World War I to allow injured troops to recuperate in a pleasant climate Sailing ships in Menton harbour photograph by Jean Gilletta early 1900s Menton was the only sizable settlement captured by Italy during its invasion of France in June 1940 Following the armistice of 22 June 1940 two thirds of the territory of the commune was annexed by Italy as terra irredenta The annexation lasted until 8 September 1943 Although officially returned to Vichy France Menton was in fact occupied by Nazi Germany until its liberation by American and Canadian troops of the First Special Service Force on 8 September 1944 12 Geography Edit The port and the old part of town View of the port of Menton Menton nicknamed the Pearl of France is located on the Mediterranean Sea at the Franco Italian border just across from the Ligurian town of Ventimiglia 13 Menton station has rail connections to Paris Marseille Cannes Antibes Nice and Ventimiglia The smaller Menton Garavan station is situated between Menton and Ventimiglia The fishing industry was devastated in the 1980s and 1990s due to a combination of overfishing and hypoxia in the bay At the time the devastation was erroneously attributed to the dubiously nicknamed killer algae Caulerpa taxifolia a non native Asian tropical green alga first discovered in the Mediterranean Sea adjacent to the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco in 1984 spread throughout the coastal sea floor Later sound scientific findings revealed that the seaweed was adept at absorbing pollutants and excess nutrients actually aiding the recovery of native Posidonia sea grass 14 and enhancing local fish populations and overall biodiversity 15 Climate Edit 1906 poster of Menton by Hugo d Alesi Menton has a very mild subtropical microclimate with an average of 316 clear or partially cloudy days annually Under the Koppen system Menton features a hot summer mediterranean climate Csa However the milder winters on average and the warmer nights in summer on average compared to the rest of the French Mediterranean coastal area provide Menton with a particular micro climate with significant warm summer mediterranean climate Csb influences and characteristics like coastal Southern California usually experienced between Nice through Monaco and Menton toward the Italian border town of Ventimiglia and up to San Remo that is favourable to hardy clementines mandarin oranges satsuma orange tangerines oranges and lemons SRA 625 is protected Citron de Menton variety groves hence one of the town s symbols the lemon Winter frosts are extremely rare but may occasionally occur every few years at the ground level and snow falls on average once every 10 years Likewise summer temperatures are relatively moderate with day temperatures of 28 32 but rarely rising above 33 C 16 Climate data for Menton Alpes Maritimes department France 2009 2016 temperature data only a Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec YearRecord high F C 64 9 18 3 68 9 20 5 74 1 23 4 81 0 27 2 88 5 31 4 92 7 33 7 95 7 35 4 97 7 36 5 92 8 33 8 83 4 28 6 76 7 24 8 68 0 20 0 97 7 36 5 Mean maximum F C 62 1 16 7 64 2 17 9 69 3 20 7 76 3 24 6 81 3 27 4 89 2 31 8 91 2 32 9 93 2 34 0 88 0 31 1 79 2 26 2 72 0 22 2 65 5 18 6 94 6 34 8 Average high F C 58 1 14 5 60 5 15 8 62 6 17 0 68 1 20 1 71 2 21 8 78 8 26 0 86 2 30 1 86 4 30 2 80 7 27 1 71 2 21 8 64 5 18 1 59 3 15 2 68 9 20 5 Average low F C 45 3 7 4 44 1 6 7 48 7 9 3 53 2 11 8 58 1 14 5 64 8 18 2 70 0 21 1 70 7 21 5 66 4 19 1 59 5 15 3 53 1 11 7 48 0 8 9 56 8 13 8 Mean minimum F C 37 9 3 3 36 5 2 5 40 3 4 6 46 6 8 1 50 4 10 2 57 4 14 1 64 0 17 8 63 5 17 5 59 0 15 0 48 7 9 3 44 4 6 9 40 5 4 7 35 1 1 7 Record low F C 32 2 0 1 30 0 1 1 36 9 2 7 43 0 6 1 46 6 8 1 52 5 11 4 58 3 14 6 56 7 13 7 54 1 12 3 39 2 4 0 39 9 4 4 30 9 0 6 30 0 1 1 Source Meteo Climat BZH 17 Mean monthly maxima and minima i e the expected highest and lowest temperature readings at any point during the year or given month calculated based on data at said location from 2009 to 2016 Extremes from 2009 to 2016 as well Townscape Edit The Pont Saint Ludovic Ponte San Ludovico border crossing point between Menton France and Ventimiglia Italy Menton from the sea Menton decorated windowMenton is known for its gardens including the Jardin Serre de la Madone the Jardin botanique exotique de Menton Le Val Rahmeh the Fontana Rosa the Maria Serena garden and the modernist gardens of Les Colombieres 18 Le Val Rahmeh was established in 1905 by Englishman Sir Percy Radcliffe the first owner of the gardens and named for his wife Villa Fontana Rosa was built in 1922 by Blasco Ibanez a Spanish novelist and the gardens of the villa are now open to the public The baroque basilica of Saint Michel Archange with its belltower was built in 1619 by the Genoese architect Lorenzo Lavagna The Bastion Museum which features decoration by Jean Cocteau is located in the Bastion of the port of Menton The bastion built overwater in 1636 as an advance defense for the port by the Princes of Monaco is now located at the shoreline The wedding room at the Mairie town hall was painted in the 1950s by Cocteau transforming it into a giant work of art Menton is home to at least half a dozen beaches Menton is notable for its Palissy majolica pottery depicting lemons The historic covered market was built in 1898 by local architect Adrien Rey The market is open every day from 5 am until 1 pm in the summer in the winter it opens at 5 30 am Over 30 kiosks both inside and around the market sell local and imported vegetables The Belle Epoque structure was one of buildings constructed by the architect in the region 19 Next to the beach and the covered market is the Jean Cocteau Museum It opened in 2011 and is close to the Bastion Museum 20 Mirazur is a French haute cuisine restaurant with three Michelin Guide stars 21 The World s 50 Best Restaurants list ranks Mirazur as the best restaurant in the world 22 Population EditHistorical populationYearPop p a 17933 060 18003 289 1 04 18063 336 0 24 18584 837 0 72 18614 904 0 46 18665 699 3 05 18726 644 2 59 18767 819 4 16 188111 000 7 07 18869 387 3 12 18919 050 0 73 18969 044 0 01 19019 944 1 92 190613 029 5 55 191118 001 6 68 YearPop p a 192118 645 0 35 192622 604 3 93 193123 417 0 71 193621 703 1 51 194613 864 4 38 195417 109 2 66 196219 904 1 91 196825 040 3 90 197525 143 0 06 198225 086 0 03 199029 141 1 89 199928 812 0 13 200728 683 0 06 201229 073 0 27 201728 958 0 08 Source EHESS 23 and INSEE 1968 2017 24 Education EditPrimary and secondary schools Edit Public nurseries Preschools include 25 Centre ville Vieille ville area Adrien Camaret and the Section enfantine de l Hotel de Ville Borrigo Rene Cassin Germaine Coty Robert Debre and Manon des Sources Carei Carei and Saint Exupery Garavan Section enfantine Alphonse DaudetPublic primary schools include 26 Centre ville Vieille ville area elementaire Frederic Mistral and primaire de l Hotel de Ville Borrigo elementaire Anne Frank Andre Guillevin elementaire Condamine Centenaire and elementaire Marcel Pagnol Carei elementaire Carei Jeanne d Arc and elementaire Saint Exupery Garavan primaire Alphonse DaudetThere are two public junior high schools Guillaume Vento and Andre Maurois 27 The two public sixth form colleges senior high schools are Lycee Pierre et Marie Curie and Lycee Professionnel Hotelier Paul Valery 28 The private Institution Notre Dame du Sacre Cœur has the Villa Blanche preschool primary and junior high school in the Centre ville area 25 26 27 Colleges and universities Edit The Institut d Etudes politiques de Paris the leading French university in social and political sciences also known as Sciences Po hosts a regional Middle East and Mediterranean campus in Menton since 2005 29 Mentonasc language EditThe Mentonasc dialect is currently spoken by about 10 of the population in Menton Roquebrune and the surrounding villages citation needed It is taught within the French educational system as a variety of Nicard i e Provencal and Occitan However in nineteenth century linguistic descriptions 30 as well as in contemporary linguistic scholarship 31 32 33 Mentonasc is described as an intermediate between Nicard and the Intemelio dialect of Ligurian Some scholars insist that Mentonasc is at its base a Ligurian dialect with French influences coming only later 34 Annual town events EditThe Fete du Citron Lemon Festival takes place every February The event follows a given theme each decade past themes include Viva Espana Disney Neverland and India The carnival lasts a few days with different bands passing through Menton s streets on foot or on truck trailers The Casino Gardens in the centre of town are decorated in the theme of the festival using lemons and oranges to cover the exhibits and huge temporary statues are built and covered with citrus fruit The Casino Gardens are also the location for Menton s Christmas Festival The Menton Classical Musical Festival is also held every year in the centre of the old town Menton Fete du Citron Sport and recreation EditMenton has a football team Rapid de Menton who play at the stadium Stade Lucien Rhein Menton also has a rugby team Le rugby Club Webb Ellis de Menton 35 There is a municipal swimming pool Piscine Alex Jany 36 The town is famous in the cycling world as being the start of the climb of the Col de la Madone de Gorbio generally shortened to Col de la Madone 37 which rises to 925 metres and was in famously used by Lance Armstrong to train for the Tour de France many professionals based in neighbouring Monaco still use the climb for training and testing Menton was also the location of a international tennis tournament the Riviera Championships that ran from 1902 to 1976 It was hosted by the Menton Lawn Tennis Club The event was part of the French Riviera circuit tour Notable residents Edit Emile Appay Menton Notables who were born lived or died in Menton include Living people Edit Jerome Alonzo born 1972 French first division football goalkeeper born in Menton Richard Anconina born 1953 French actor before his film career he worked for several years at a holiday club for seniors in Menton Olivier Echouafni born 1972 French first division football midfielder born in Menton Sebastien Gattuso born 1971 Monegasque athlete specializing in bobsledding Cedric Varrault born 1980 French first division football defender began his career with the Menton football clubHistorical figures Edit Emile Appay 1876 1935 French landscape painter spent time in Menton over the years capturing paintings of the sea Ferdinand Bac 1859 1952 French illustrator lithographer and writer developed the house and gardens of Les Colombieres above Menton for Emile and Caroline Ladan Bockairy The house contains frescoes and modernist furniture by Bac with a large garden set over several levels Les Colombieres is a Monument Historique and has been recently restored 38 39 Aubrey Vincent Beardsley 1872 1898 English illustrator and author Lesley Blanch 1904 2007 English born writer 40 Vicente Blasco Ibanez 1867 1928 Spanish author at the end of his life lived on his estate Fontana Rosa in Menton Thomas Carlyle 1795 1881 Scottish essayist historian and philosopher lived at the home of Louisa Baring Lady Ashburton from December 1866 to March 1867 following the death of his wife Jane Welsh Carlyle 41 Rene Clement 1913 1996 film director Jean Cocteau 1889 1963 French artist spent much time in Menton over the years the Jean Cocteau Museum is in Menton he decorated the wedding room in Menton s town hall and the small stone bastion in Menton s harbour wall 20 Alfred Edersheim 1825 1889 Jewish Biblical scholar died in Menton Ivan Grigorovich 1853 1930 Imperial Russian Navy admiral lived in Menton after the Russian Revolution Panait Istrati 1884 1935 Romanian writer of French and Romanian expression friends with Romain Rolland lived in Menton for a brief period and has a street in Menton named after him Joseph Joffo 1931 2018 French author lived temporarily in Menton during World War II Anatoly Lunacharsky 1875 1933 Russian Marxist revolutionary and the first Soviet People s Commissar of Enlightenment responsible for culture and education died in Menton George Macleay 1809 1891 Australian explorer and politician died in Menton Katherine Mansfield 1888 1923 New Zealand modernist short story writer who lived and worked in a street now named after her Her former home the Villa Isola Bella is used as the residence for New Zealand writers who receive the Katherine Mansfield Menton Fellowship to live and write there for a year James Matheson 1796 1878 was a Scottish trader in India co founder of Jardine Matheson amp Co died in Menton 31 December 1878 aged 82 Charles H Spurgeon 1834 1892 British Baptist preacher died in Menton Graham Sutherland 1903 1980 English painter Philip Meadows Taylor 1808 1876 British Indian civil servant and author Hans Georg Tersling 1857 1920 Danish architect designed many buildings in the town William Webb Ellis 1806 1872 inventor of rugby lived in Menton at the end of his life and is buried in the old cemetery William Butler Yeats 1865 1939 Irish writer and poet died in MentonInternational relations EditSee also List of twin towns and sister cities in France Menton Menton is twinned with 42 43 Baden Baden Germany Laguna Beach United States Montreux Switzerland Nafplio Greece Sochi RussiaSee also EditKnights of the Redeemer Mentonasc Roquebrune Cap Martin List of historical unrecognized states Former countries in Europe after 1815 Intermelio Antoine Sartorio Communes of the Alpes Maritimes departmentReferences Edit Repertoire national des elus les maires in French data gouv fr Plateforme ouverte des donnees publiques francaises 4 May 2022 Populations legales 2019 The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies 29 December 2021 Ernest Negre General Toponym of France Etymology of 35 000 place names Geneva Librairie Droz 1990 Volume I Pre Celtic Celtic and Roman names 11 118 p 664 in French Fondation de Menton Emile Riviere Decouverte d un Squelette Humain de l Epoque Paleolithique Dans les Cavernes des Baousse Rousse dites Grottes de Menton Discovery of a Human Skeleton from the Paleolithic in the Caverns of Baousse Rousse also known as the Grottes de Menton J B Bailliere et Fils Paris 1873 in French La rue Longue Official site of the town of Menton accessed April 2009 in French Ermanno Amicucci Nizza e l Italia Mondadori editore Milano 1939 Menton on the French Riviera accessed April 2009 Ermanno Amicucci Nizza e l Italia p 58 61 a b cahoon ben Monaco www worldstatesmen org Ted Jones 15 December 2007 The French Riviera A Literary Guide for Travellers Tauris Parke Paperbacks ISBN 978 1 84511 455 8 La liberation de Menton The Liberation of Menton Official site of the town of Menton Accessed April 2009 in French Menton perle de la France in French Office de Tourisme de Menton Jaubert J M J R M Chisholm G Passeron Seitre D Ducrot H T Ripley and L Roy 1999 No deleterious alterations in Posidonia beds in the Bay of Menton France eight years after Caulerpa taxifolia colonization Journal of Phycology 35 1113 1119 Francour P M Harmelin Vivien J G Harmelin and J duClerc 1995 Impact of Caulerpa taxifolia colonization on the littoral ichthyofauna of northwestern Mediterranean Hydrobiologia 300 301 345 353 Climat et Meteo a Menton Office de Tourisme de Menton French Riviera site officiel Menton France Archived from the original on 2017 10 19 Retrieved 2017 03 15 Station Name MENTON FRANCE March 2017 Retrieved 2017 03 15 The Colombieres garden Menton Gardens Menton com Archived from the original on 6 December 2013 Retrieved 17 November 2013 Belle Epoque in Menton Riviera Kitchen 2011 09 29 Retrieved 2013 03 26 a b Edwards Natasha 16 October 2012 Menton France On the Jean Cocteau museum trail The Daily Telegraph Mirazur Menton a MICHELIN Guide Restaurant MICHELIN Guide Retrieved 2020 10 27 The Worlds 50 Best Restaurants The 1 50 Winners List UI 50B Restaurants GLOBAL Retrieved 2020 10 27 Des villages de Cassini aux communes d aujourd hui Commune data sheet Menton EHESS in French Population en historique depuis 1968 INSEE a b Les ecoles maternelles Menton Retrieved on 25 September 2018 a b Les ecoles primaires Menton Retrieved on 25 September 2018 a b Les Colleges Menton Retrieved on 25 September 2018 Les Lycees Menton Retrieved on 25 September 2018 Menton campus Sciences Po Undergraduate College menton html February 24 2017 James Bruny Andrews Il dialetto di Mentone in quanto egli tramezzi ideologicamente tra il provenzale e il ligure The dialect of Menton in which it is ideologically intermediate between Provencal and Ligurian in Archivio Glottologico Italiano XII 1890 92 pp 97 106 in English J P Dalbera Interferences entre provencal et ligurien dans la genese du systeme morphologique mentonnais Interferences between Provencal and Ligurian in the genesis of the Mentonnais morphological system in Bulletin du Centre de romanistique et de latinite tardive 4 5 Nice 1989 pp 89 97 W Forner L Intemelia linguistica in Intemelion 1 Sanremo 1995 pp 67 82 in Italian Le mentonnais entre toutes les chaises in Lexique Francais Mentonnais Caserio amp al 2001 in French Werner Forner A propos du ligurien intemelien La cote l arriere pays Travaux du Cercle linguistique de Nice 7 8 1986 pp 29 62 Rugby Club Webb Ellis Menton presentation des regles du rugby boutique maillot de rugby Rugbyclub webbellis com 2012 12 15 Retrieved 2013 03 26 Piscine Alex Jany Menton Retrieved on 25 September 2018 Col de la Madone Menton climbbybike com Retrieved 2021 11 16 Base Merimee Domaine des Colombieres Ministere francais de la Culture in French Foreman Liza 24 August 2013 More Than Just a Famous Garden The New York Times Obituary Lesley Blanch The Guardian 10 May 2007 Nichol John 1904 Thomas Carlyle Project Gutenberg Retrieved 2022 08 23 Villes jumelees menton fr in French Menton Retrieved 2019 11 20 Laguna Beach Menton Relations lagunabeachsistercities com Laguna Beach Retrieved 2019 11 20 External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Menton Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Menton Tourist office website Tourist office website English version City council website Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Menton amp oldid 1134510691, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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