Fontvieille (; ) is the southernmost ward in the

Principality of Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, on the Mediterranean Sea. It is a semi-enclave borde ...

. It was developed by Italian engineer Gianfranco Gilardini and designed by architect Manfredi Nicoletti, between the 1970s and the 1990s.

History

In contrast to the other city districts

Monaco-Ville Monaco City ( ; ) is the southcentral ward in the Principality of Monaco. Located on a headland that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, it is nicknamed The Rock (; ). The name "Monaco City" is misleading: it is not itself a city, but a histor ...

Monte Carlo Monte Carlo ( ; ; or colloquially ; , ; ) is an official administrative area of Monaco, specifically the Ward (country subdivision), ward of Monte Carlo/Spélugues, where the Monte Carlo Casino is located. Informally, the name also refers to ...

and La Condamine, Fontvieille was constructed, after Italian engineer Gianfranco Gilardini's design, almost entirely on artificially reclaimed land and thus represents one of the younger parts of the principality. In order to combat the chronic land shortage in the extremely densely populated principality, the work was begun in 1966 to create new land in the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

southwest of '' le rocher''. In 1981, Albert II, then Crown Prince, laid the cornerstone for the new city quarter. The existence of Fontvieille, and its many public works projects, relates substantially to former

Prince of Monaco The sovereign prince () is the monarch and head of state of the Principality of Monaco. All reigning princes and princesses have taken the name of the House of Grimaldi. When Prince Rainier III died in 2005, he was Europe's longest reigning mo ...

, Prince Rainier III's reputation as the Builder Prince. Plans announced in late 2009 to extend Fontvieille by the Department of Urban Development are currently being overseen by Prince Albert. The plan is to build a small aura on the west side of the rock, currently planned to be finished by 2015. The new area will include three to four new hotels, corporate businesses, shops and apartments for between 600 and 800 newcomers. Despite not being the highest-priced part of Monaco, flats are also very expensive. For example, a 65 m² (700 ft²) one bedroom apartment with one bathroom and one car parking space was offered at €3,200,000 in May 2015.

Geography

Fontvieille represents the southwestern portion of the

city-state A city-state is an independent sovereign city which serves as the center of political, economic, and cultural life over its contiguous territory. They have existed in many parts of the world throughout history, including cities such as Rome, ...

, which is an area of . It accommodates 3,602. Four hectares (9.9 acres) of Fontvieille are given over to the Fontvieille Park and Princess Grace Rose Garden. Part of Fontvieille's southern boundaries include the border with the French Republic where the Didier Deschamps Stadium and the Port of Cap d'Ail are located in close proximity.

Sport

Fontvieille contains

Stade Louis II The Stade Louis II (, ), or simply Louis II is a stadium located in the Fontvieille district of Monaco, near the border with Cap-d'Ail commune of France. It serves primarily as a venue for Athletics and football, being the home of AS Monaco ...

(or Louis II Stadium), which serves as the home ground of

AS Monaco FC Association Sportive de Monaco Football Club, commonly referred to as AS Monaco (), is a professional association football, football club based in Fontvieille, Monaco, Fontvieille, Monaco. Although not in France, they are a member of the Frenc ...

, a Monaco

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

club that is one of the most successful in the French national league. It also contains a small indoor sports arena called Salle Gaston Médecin where AS Monaco Basket plays as a member of

LNB Pro A LNB may refer to: Sport * Liga Nacional de Baloncesto, a professional basketball league in the Dominican Republic * Liga Nacional de Básquetbol, an Argentine basketball league * Liga Nacional de Básquetbol (Paraguay), Liga Nacional de Básquetb ...

, and which hosts other events like handball, volleyball, gymnastics, and more. Monaco's only racing team, ROKiT Venturi Racing – which competes in the FIA Formula E World Championship – is also based in Fontvieille.

Landmarks

The district also contains the Monaco Heliport, which provides frequent links to Nice Airport in neighboring France, with connections to direct flights to New York,

Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, and other important

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

an destinations. Monaco's

automobile museum An automotive museum is a museum that explores the History of the automobile, history of automotive-related transportation. * Bold – museums owned by automotive manufacturers * ''Italics'' – no longer open to public access, excluding private ...

, the Monaco Top Cars Collection, is located on the Terrasses de Fontvieille. The Museum of Stamps and Coins displays Monegasque money dating to 1640, and illustrates the postal history of the principality. Columbus Hotel Monaco, which was owned by former racing driver David Coulthard, is located in Fontvieille. Venturi and its subsidiary Voxan are headquartered on the northern side of Fontvieille.

Gallery

File:Monaco – Heliport vor dem Cirque de Monte-Carlo - panoramio.jpg, The heliport File:Monaco005.jpg, A top view of the stadium File:Fontvieille harbour in 2017.jpg, Fontvieille harbour File:Monaco Monaco Museumsgebäude.JPG, Entrance to the automobile museum File:Roseraie Princesse Grace - panoramio (3).jpg, Princess Grace Rose Garden File:Monaco Fontvieille (48928513252).jpg, The harbour at dusk

Notable people

David and Frederick Barclay Sir David Rowat Barclay (27 October 1934 – 10 January 2021) and Sir Frederick Hugh Barclay (born 27 October 1934), commonly referred to as the "Barclay Brothers" or "Barclay Twins", were British billionaire brothers, of whom Frederick Barclay ...

, English entrepreneursPiers Morgan On Monte Carlo
/ref> * Ken Bates, English hotelier *

Björn Borg Björn Rune Borg (; born 6 June 1956) is a Swedish former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 109 weeks. Borg won 66 singles titles during his caree ...

, Swedish professional tennis player * David Coulthard, Scottish racing driver * Nicolas Ioannou, Cypriot businessman * Firoz Kassam, Tanzanian entrepreneur * Ken McCulloch, English hotelier *

Max Verstappen Max Emilian Verstappen (; born 30 September 1997) is a Dutch and Belgian racing driver who competes under the Dutch flag in Formula One for Red Bull Racing. Verstappen has won four Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, which he w ...

, Dutch racing driver

References

External links

{{Authority control 1980s establishments in Monaco 1981 establishments in Europe France–Monaco border crossings Land reclamation in Monaco Populated places established in 1981 Quarters of Monaco