Viewing French Riviera
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c900 BC First signs of human settlement. 500-400 BC Greeks set up trading posts at St-Tropez, Antibes, Nice and Monaco. c300 BC Celtic invasions of Provence and Côte d'Azur. 58-52 BC 125 BC Romans conquer southern Gaul and name it Provincia. 6 BC Caesar's conquest of Gaul. 476 Alpine Trophy at la Turbie constructed. 536 Fall of Roman Empire. The Riviera becomes part of the Visigothic Kingdom of Italy. 8-10th century The Riviera comes under Frankish rule. 1032 Saracens invade southern France; the Riviera becomes part of the Carolingian Empire. 1297 Provence becomes part of Holy Roman Empire. 1388 1308 A member of the Grimaldi family purchases the estate of Monaco from the Genoese. 1450s Nice hands itself over to the Count of Savoy. 1691 The first Nice School of painters is formed; fine Renaissance altarpieces created in many of the region's churches. 1793 Nice occupied by the French, but returned to Savoy in 1696. 1799 Nice is reunited with France. 1814 Napoléon lands at St-Raphaël on his return from Egypt. 1815 Napoléon leaves St-Raphaël for Elba. 1830s Napoléon returns from Elba, landing at Golfe Juan. 1848 Beginnings of tourism on the French Riviera. 1860 Menton and Roquebrune successfully revolt against Grimaldi rule from Monaco. 1865 Nice votes to join France. Late 19th century Monte-Carlo is founded and the first casino opens in 1878. 1878 Development of a winter tourist season on the Riviera. 1902 St-Tropez School of painting founded. 1908 First Monte-Carlo Rally. 1917 Renoir moves to the Riviera, where he lives until his death in 1919. 1920s-30s Matisse settles in Nice, and stays until his death in 1955. 1940 Riviera becomes a fashionable international summer resort. 1942 The Italians occupy Menton. 1944 Nazis invade southern France. 1947 Allied troops liberate Provence and the Côte d'Azur. 1949 Picasso moves to Antibes. 1959 The First International Film Festival is held at Cannes. 1962 Prince Rainier III of Monaco accedes to the throne, and in 1956 marries American actress Grace Kelly. 1970 Floods in Fréjus kill 421. 1980s Algerian war of independence; many French North Africans (pieds-noirs) settle on the Riviera. Nice-Côte d'Azur Airport opens. 1982 Autoroute du Soleil completed. 1989 Extreme right political parties gain popularity in key coastal cities. 1990 Princess Grace is killed in a car crash on the Moyenne Corniche above Monaco. Graham Greene publishes a pamphlet on organised crime on the French Riviera called J'Accuse: The Dark Side of Nice. 1997 Law passed to toughen measures against forest fires, which pose an increasing threat to the region. 2002 Under indictment for misuse of public funds, Nice's right-wing mayor, Jacques Médecin, flees to Uruguay to avoid trial for corruption.
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