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This article is about the French city. For other uses, see Nice (disambiguation).
Nice (IPA: [nis]; Niçard Occitan: Niça [classical norm] or Nissa, Italian: Nizza, Greek:Νίκαια) is a city in southern France located on the Mediterranean coast, between Marseille and Genoa, with 933,080 inhabitants in the metropolitan area at the 1999 census. The city is a major tourist centre and a leading resort on the French Riviera (Côte d'Azur). It is the historical capital city of the County of Nice.
AdministrationLocated in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur région, Nice is a commune and the préfecture (administrative capital) of the Alpes-Maritimes département. HistoryImage:Nice-seafront.jpg The Nice foreshore and Promenade des Anglais, viewed from the "Colline du Château"
Nice (Nicaea) was founded probably around 350 BC by the Greeks of Massilia (Marseille) and received the name of Νικαία ("Nikaia") in honor of a victory over the neighbouring Ligurians (Nike being the Greek goddess of victory). It soon became one of the busiest trading stations on the Ligurian coast; but as a city it had an important rival in the Roman town of Cemenelum, which continued to exist as a separate city till the time of the Lombard invasions, and has left its ruins at Cimiez, which is now a quarter of Nice. In the 7th century Nice joined the Genoese League formed by the towns of Liguria. In 729 it repulsed the Saracens; but in 859 and 880 they pillaged and burned it, and for the most of the 10th century remained masters of the surrounding country. During the Middle Ages Nice had its share in the wars and disasters of Italy. As an ally of Pisa it was the enemy of Genoa, and both the King of France and the Emperor endeavoured to subjugate it; but in spite of all it maintained its municipal liberties. In the course of the 13th and 14th centuries it fell more than once into the hands of the Counts of Provence; and at length in 1388 the commune placed itself under the protection of the Counts of Savoy.
In 1543 Nice was attacked by the united forces of Francis I and Barbarossa Hayreddin Pasha; and, though the inhabitants repulsed the assault which succeeded the terrible bombardment, they were ultimately compelled to surrender, and Barbarossa was allowed to pillage the city and to carry off 2,500 captives. Pestilence appeared again in 1550 and 1580. In 1600 Nice was taken by the duke of Guise. By opening the ports of the countship to all nations, and proclaiming full freedom of trade, Charles Emmanuel in 1626 gave a great stimulus to the commerce of the city, whose noble families took part in its mercantile enterprises. Captured by Catinat in 1691, Nice was restored to Savoy in 1696; but it was again besieged by the French in 1705, and in the following year its citadel and ramparts were demolished. Image:Saint Pons-small.jpg Benedictine Abbey of St Pons, founded 778, rebuilt in the 11th century: A Romanesque abbey with a Baroque belltower The treaty of Utrecht in 1713 once more gave the city back to Savoy; and in the peaceful years which followed the "new town" was built. From 1744 till the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748) the French and Spaniards were again in possession. In 1775 the king of Sardinia destroyed all that remained of the ancient liberties of the commune. Conquered in 1792 by the armies of the French republic, the county of Nice continued to be part of France until 1814; but after that date it reverted to Sardinia. By a treaty concluded in 1860 between the Sardinian king and Napoleon III, it was again transferred to France as a territorial reward for French assistance in the Second Italian War of Independence against Austria, which saw Lombardy unified with Piedmont-Sardinia. The cession was ratified by over 25,000 electors out of a total of 30,700. Savoy was also transferred to the French crown by similar means. The dawn of the 20th century was the arrival of a modern mode of transport. In 1900, the Tramway de Nice electrified its horse drawn tramway and spread its network to Menton and Cagnes-sur-Mer, equipping the city of a modern mode of transport. In the second half of the 20th century, Nice bore the influence of mayor Jean Médecin (mayor from 1947 to 1965) and his son Jacques (mayor from 1966 to 1990). On October 16 1979 23 people died when the coast of Nice was hit by a tsunami. As accusations of political corruption against Jacques Médecin grew, he fled France in 1990 and was arrested in Uruguay in 1993, leading to his extradition in 1994. He was then convicted of several counts of corruption and associated crimes and sentenced to prison. Jacques Peyrat, the mayor of Nice since 1995, is a member of the UMP party and former member of the Front National. In 2003, local head prosecutor Éric de Montgolfier alleged that some judicial cases involving local personalities had been suspiciously derailed by the local judiciary, which he suspected of having unhealthy contacts, through Masonic lodges, with the very people that they are supposed to prosecute or judge. A controversial official report stated that de Montgolfier had made unwarranted accusations. ClimateNice enjoys mild and sunny weather throughout the year. Its mediterranean climate allows warm summers and mild winters, with temperatures rarely reaching freezing point. Sometimes the temperature can even reach 20°C in late winter or early spring, as it did on 2 March 2007 with a record high of 26°C. Snowfall is extremely rare.
CultureNice has a distinct culture due to its unique history. The local language Niçard (Nissart) is an Occitan dialect, still spoken by a minority. Strong Italian and (less) Corsican influences make it less unintelligible than other non-extinct Provençal dialects that exist around. Local food culture, which includes pissaladière, a pie with onions and anchovies sauce; socca, a type of pancake made from chickpea flour; bouillabaisse and various fish soups; "Stockfish" (traditionally pronounced as "Stoquefiche" (French spelling) with special emphasis on the first "e"), farcis niçois, vegetables stuffed with breadcrumbs; and salade niçoise, a tomato salad with green peppers of the "Corne" breed, baked eggs, tuna or anchovies and olives. In the past Nice welcomed many immigrants from Italy (who continue to make a large proportion of the population), as well as Spanish and Portuguese immigrants. However, in the past few decades immigration has been opened to include immigrants from all over the world particularly immigrants from other parts of the world, mainly former Northern and Western African colonies, as well as southeastern Asia. Traditions are still alive, especially in the folk music and the dances. The most famous is the farandole. Places of interest
Religious buildingsImage:La Cathedrale Orthodoxe Russe Saint-Nicolas.jpg St.Nicolas' Russian Orthodox Cathedral
Museums
Sports and entertainment facilitiesEducationNice is home of the University of Nice Sophia Antipolis and EDHEC Business School. It is home of many preparatory schools to access to the Grandes Ecoles (like Ecole Normale Supérieure), and the prepschool of Nice is one of the 10 best schools of France. TransportThe city is served by Côte d'Azur International Airport and has a railway station. The smaller Gare du Sud is not used any longer. The Chemins de Fer de Provence is a small rail company providing a daily train service between Nice and Digne-les-Bains. The ferry companies SNCM and Corsica Ferries operate from the Nice harbour and sail to several towns on Corsica. Public transport within the city and to neighbouring areas is provided by the Ligne d'Azur bus company. A tramway, the Tramway de Nice, is currently under construction and is expected to begin operation in 2007. Image:Panorama Nice.jpg Night panorama from the Mont Alban MiscellaneousBirthsNice was the birthplace of:
Town twinningNice's town twins are:
See also
Sources and references
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