History

People have inhabited Nice since prehistoric times, but a clear, detailed picture of its past only emerges from antiquity onwards. After centuries of merchant activity marked by occasional invasion, Nice gradually developed through the 18th and 19th Centuries to take the shape we know today as a major tourist destination.

People have lived on the geographical site for 400,000 years, the history of which is chronicled at the Terra Amata museum. Primitive settlers, the very first inhabitants of Nice, established themselves at the base of Mont-Boron, in a cave known as the Grotte du Lazaret, where they lived among ibex, stags, oxen and elephants, and carved weapons out of the limestone rock.

Several thousand years elapsed in peaceful evolution, until Nice eventually gained its name in the 4th Century BCE when the Massaliotes won a memorable victory over the Barbarians. These victorious Greeks hailing from present day Marseille (200 kilometers/124 miles from Nice) named the colony Nikaïa, which literally means "giver of victory." Being the closest port of call from the island of Cyrnos (present-day Corsica), it became a Massaliote beachhead as well as an important commercial trading post. The beginnings of the new town were established not at the foot of Mont-Boron, as in prehistoric times, but on the slopes of the Château hill.

At this time, Nice was a small stronghold which protected the port using natural defenses—the Colline du Château. The few hundred inhabitants were mainly merchants under the authority of magistrates nominated by Marseille.

Roman occupation of Nice can be traced back to 14 BCE, the start of the Roman Empire. At this time the Romans effectively built a second town, Cemenelum, on Cimiez hill. Once it had become the county seat for the Alpes-Maritimes military government, Cimiez quickly became a strategic center. The lower parts of the town, close to the port and climbing the Château hillside, lived in the shadow of Cimiez for the next few centuries.

In the 6th Century, Nikaïa gained the upper hand over Cemenelum, which disappeared with the fall of the Roman Empire. Nikaïa became part of the French empire, and earned a place of importance through its successful maritime commerce.

While almost no traces of the Massaliotes remain, the Romans left many historic relics. Via Julia Augusta, linking Nice to Vinitmille (37 kilometers/22 miles away) is just one, and you can admire the Trophee d'Auguste – a magnificent construction with four well-preserved columns, which offers a great panorama at Turbie. It symbolizes the submission of the Alpine people to Roman rule, representing the first stage of conquests in the valleys. Emperor Augustus can also be credited with setting up the region's first real administrative organization. Finally, the most manifest remains of the Roman presence in Nice are the well-preserved Roman amphitheaters and baths which you can visit around the site of Cimiez Archeological Museum, on the hill.

In 813 the town was sacked by the Sarrasins, who managed to conquer the whole of eastern Provence on the Côte des Maures. It was only in 972 that Guillaume, the Compte de Provence, managed to rout them. The commercial activity of the lower town intensified and in 1176 the first town charter was drawn up.

With the death of Queen Jeanne de Provence in 1382, civil war broke out at a time when Nice was the third biggest town in Provence, after Arles and Marseilles. Six years later, the people of Nice chose to place themselves under the protection of the Compte de Savoie, Amedee VII, in what was called the "inedict" of 1388. Nice became a strategic stronghold for the Savoy Counts, and the town was instrumental in assisting their defense against the French and their allies.

In 1543 the Turkish fleet tried in vain to conquer the city. Local washerwoman turned symbolic figure Catherine Segurane, instigated a particularly unusual form of defense. Legend has it that she lashed out with a carpet beater to send them running...while showing them her behind!

The 17th Century witnessed the flourishing of baroque art in Nice. Façades were painted in warm reds and yellows, ochre and burnt sienna; doorways and window sills were given contrasting colors and woodwork was painted in cold blues and greens. The restoration of the façades over the last few decades has returned Nice to its former baroque glory. Other striking examples of this artistic tradition are the churches of the old town like Cathedrale Sainte-Reparate.

At the end of the 17th Century, in 1691 and 1705, the French army twice destroyed Nice's defenses and the castle was razed to the ground. In 1713, the town again retreated to the protection of the Duke of Savoy, who had also become King of Sardinia.

Between the French Revolution and the Empire (1792-1814), the Alpes-Maritimes region was created and annexed to France. By the same token, Nice was also returned to the French, but this time with the assent of the people.

With the fall of Napoleon, Nice again came under the sway of Sardinia, but the language and culture distanced it further and further from Italy. On March 24, 1860, Napoleon III and Victor-Emmanuel II, King of Sardinia, agreed that Nice would be handed over to France once and for all, a decision that met with universal approval from the inhabitants. A remarkable economic boom ensued; roads were built, the railway arrived, and the population underwent explosive growth.

At the same time, winter tourism, which had started to develop in the mid 1700s with the arrival of the British aristocracy, gathered in popularity. In 1827 the town received some 600 winter vacationers, coming from all over Europe to enjoy the gentle climate. The latter part of the 19th Century and the years leading up to World War I were something of a heyday, to which the prolific and luxurious belle epoque residences attest. Nice was the winter playground of the rich and famous, but with the aftermath of the Second World War, mass tourism grew and the trend was reversed: the resort town became, and still is, a summer holiday spot for sun-seekers who come to relax on the beaches. Today tourism is a vital and fundamental part of the local economy, a fact borne out by the airport—the second largest in France—and the vast array of hotels.