Nice (Capital of the department)

Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)

capital of the department of Alpes Maritimes, France, on the coast, 140 miles E. by N. of Marseilles and 110 S. W. of Genoa. On the N. of the city the hills rise in terraces and shield it from the cold winds. On the S. it faces the sea, which tempers the heat in summer. Owing to the advantages of its situation, Nice has for many long years been celebrated as a winter resort for invalids; the number of visitors is estimated from 15,000 to The mean temperature of win- 40,000. 40,000. ter is 49° F., of summer 72°. Frost occurs but seldom. The city consists of three parts-the New Town on the W., the Old Town, and the Port on the E. The first of these is the part frequented by foreigners. Beautiful promenades stretch along the seashore, and are overlooked by villas and hotels. The most famous of these is the Promenade des Anglais. Numerous bridges across the little river Paglione (Paillon) connect the New Town with the Old or Upper Town. This part, with narrow streets, clusters at the foot of a rocky height, the Castle Hill; on the other (E.) side of this hill is the harbor, called Lympia. The Castle Hill is an isolated mass of limestone 318 feet high, formerly crowned by a strong castle, now in 1 ruins, and is laid out in public gardens. 1 The chief public buildings are the cathedral, the Gothic church , the natural history museum, art gallery of Notre Dame library, observatory, casino, etc. The people manufacture artistic pottery, perfumery, and Italian pastes, grow flowers and fruits, the last of which they preserve, and produce inlay work in olive wood, in some of which a considerable export trade is carried on. The annual flower carnival attracts pleasure seekers from all parts of the world. The ancient Ligurian town of Nicea, founded by a colony of Phocæans from Massalia (Marseilles), became subject to Rome in the 2d century B. C. It was in the hands of the Saracens during the greater part of the 10th century. Then, after existing as an independent city, it acknowledged the supremacy of the Counts of Provence and the House of Savoy (1388). From 1600 onward it was repeatedly taken by the French; and they kept possession of it from 1792 to 1814. In 1860 it was ceded to France by Sardinia (Savoy). Masséna was born near the city, and Garibaldi in it. Pop. about 150,000.