Menton

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Administration
Commune of Menton Menton Old Town and Harbour
Location
Longitude	07° 30' 02" E
Latitude	43° 46' 32" N
Country	France
Region	Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Department	Alpes-Maritimes
Arrondissement	Nice
Canton	Chief town of 2 cantons
Intercommunality	Communauté d'agglomération de la Riviera française
Mayor	Jean-Claude Guibal (2001-2008)
Statistics
Altitude	0 m–774 m (avg. 16 m)
Land area¹	14.05 km²
Population² (1999)	28,812
- Density (1999)	2,050.7/km²
Miscellaneous
INSEE/Postal code	06083/ 06500
¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 mi² or 247 acres) and river estuaries.
² Population sans doubles comptes: single count of residents of multiple communes (e.g. students and military personnel).

Menton (Occitan: Menton in classical norm or Mentan in Mistralian norm; Italian: Mentone) is a town and commune in the Alpes-Maritimes département of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur région of France. It has been called the most beautiful town on the French Riviera and its nickname is La perle de la France ("The pearl of France").

1 Geography
2 History
3 Sights
4 Events
5 Miscellaneous
6 See also
7 External links

[edit] Geography

Menton is located on the Franco-Italian border, within the confines of the Côte d'Azur and the Ligurian Alps. It boasts a warm micro-climate favorable to lemon, tangerine and orange groves.

The fishing industry was devastated in the 1980s and 1990s when the "killer Algae" Caulerpa taxifolia, a non-native Asian tropical green algae first discovered in the Mediterranean Sea adjacent to the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco in 1984) introduced to the local environment spread throughout the coastal sea floor decimating the local fish life.

[edit] History

Menton was founded by the Count of Ventimiglia as château de Puypin (ca. 1000) and inhabited by Ligurian people, it was owned by the Grimaldi family from 1346 until 1848, before departing from the principality of Monaco and officially becoming French in 1861.

During the 19th century, Menton was popular because of its warm climate, and many famous people chose to take their vacation in the town.

Annexed by the Italians during World War II, Menton enjoyed a steady flow of goods and services during this period as an example of the benefits of Italian government but french residents were forced to live as Italians, like the majority of local people. Germans in turn occupied Menton during the latter part of the war. Menton was regained on September 8, 1944. The town was devastated and it was not until the 1960s that the re-building of Menton was concluded. It then regained its appeal as a tourist destination.

[edit] Sights

Perhaps the most famous aspect of Menton is its world-renowned gardens, including the Serre de la Madone, the Le Val Rahmeh, the Fontana Rosa, and the Maria Serena garden. Le Val Rahmeh, meaning "Valley of the Cat" in Hindi, was established in 1905 by Englishman Lord Radcliffe, the first owner of the gardens. 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.

[edit] Events

Every year in February the "Lemon Festival" takes place in the town. There are huge temporary statues built and covered with citrus fruit (lemons and oranges) and every year the festival follows a given theme. Past themes include Viva Espana, Disney, Neverland and India. The festival lasts for a few days with different bands passing through Menton's streets on foot or truck trailers. The casino gardens in the centre of town are decorated in the theme of the festival using the celebrated fruit to cover the exhibits. The Casino Gardens are also the location for Menton's Christmas Festival.

The Menton Classical Musical Festival is held evey year in the heart of the atmospheric old town.