The stretch of coast which is now Monaco belonged to Genoa until 1297. It was a Genoese fortress. In 1297, the Grimaldi family was expelled from Genoa and conquered the fortress of Monaco. After some back and forth, in 1419, the Grimaldi family purchased Monaco from the Crown of Aragon and became the rulers of Monaco. Later, they called themselves “princes”.
In the 17th century, the princes of Monaco became vassals of the French kings while at the same time remaining sovereign princes, not unusual for these times. The princes of Monaco increasingly spent time in Paris and married French ladies. So, gradually Italian culture and language was replaced by French culture and language.
The 19th century brought a lot of turmoil for Monaco, with inclusion into Sardinia and Savoy and with revolutionary movements. Monaco came out of this phase by losing some of its territory (Menton and Roquebrune) but by receiving sovereingty from France with the Franco-Monégasque Treaty of 1861. This treaty was renewed in 1918 and 2002, guaranteeing the principality’s independence as a sovereign state which even became member of the United Nations.
Now, the internal structure. After Monaco lost the cities of Menton and Roquebrune to France (the inhabitants did not want to be any longer under the rule of the Grimaldis and pay taxes to them), the state of Monaco was reduced to a tiny territory.
In 1917, the municipalities in Monaco were merged into just one municipality (commune) and there is no real distinction between the State and City of Monaco. Since then, Monaco is a city state with 10 wards (one of them is Monaco-Ville, another one is Monte-Carlo).
- 01 – Monte Carlo / Spélugues
- 02 – La Rousse / Saint Roman
- 03 – Larvotto/Bas Moulins
- 04 – La Condamine
- 05 – Monaco-Ville
- 06 – Fontvieille
- 07 – La Colle
- 08 – Les Révoires
- 09 – Moneghetti/ Boulevard de Belgique
- 10 – Saint Michel
However, the princes had the idea to open a casino in Monte-Carlo, so they needed not longer to collect taxes. Since Monaco became tax-free, it attracted huge numbers of billionaires, creating an extremely dense urban development.
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