尼斯改進草稿:

尼斯海濱的建築

尼斯地中海沿岸法國南部城市,位於普羅旺斯-阿爾卑斯-藍色海岸大區,為濱海阿爾卑斯省行政中心。尼斯地處馬賽意大利熱那亞之間,為主要旅遊中心和蔚藍海岸地區的首選度假地,都會區人口933080人(1999年統計)。

尼斯的海岸

詞條

編輯

Promenade des Anglais : 英格蘭海濱散步道
Terra Amata: 泰拉-阿瑪他

歷史

編輯
 
尼斯的海灘和英格蘭海濱散步道(Promenade des Anglais),尼斯的最大的旅遊熱點。
有關教會的歷史,參見尼斯主教轄區

大約40萬年前,尼斯已經有了人類居住的痕跡:在泰拉-阿瑪他(Terra Amata)附近,已經有了早期人類使用和建造房子的跡象。

尼斯(尼西亞)早在公元前5世紀的時候被馬賽希臘人建立,為了紀念對鄰邦利古里亞人的勝利,尼斯被命名為Νικαία("Nikaia"),(尼刻是希臘的勝利女神)。尼斯很快變成了利古里亞海岸上最繁忙的貿易商站.

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.

The maritime strength of Nice now rapidly increased until it was able to cope with the Barbary pirates; the fortifications were largely extended and the roads to the city improved. During the struggle between Francis I and Charles V great damage was caused by the passage of the armies invading Provence; pestilence and famine raged in the city for several years. It was in Nice that the two monarchs in 1538 concluded, through the mediation of Pope Paul III, a truce of ten years.

 
Distant view

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.

 
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, and the cession was ratified by over 25,000 electors out of a total of 30,700 although the plesbicite was most likely sabotaged by the French.

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.

 
The Nice seafront on a windy day, viewed from the "Colline du Château"

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.