Nice

Nice (Ital. Nizza), chief town of the department of the Alpes Maritimes, France, stands on a beautiful well-sheltered site on the coast, 140 miles E. by N. of Marseilles and 110 SW. of Genoa. It has for many long years been celebrated as a winter-resort for invalids; the number of visitors is usually estimated at 15,000, but in the winter of 1889 and 1890 they reached 40,000 to 45,000. The mean temperature of winter is 49° F., of summer 72°. Frosts occur but seldom. Pop. (1872) 42,363; (1886) 65,053; (1891) 74,250. The city consists of three parts—the New Town on the west, the Old Town, and the Port on the east. The first of these is the part frequented by foreigners, particularly English (whence its name of ‘English town’). Beautiful promenades stretch along the seashore, and are overlooked by villas and hotels. Numerous bridges across the little river Paglione (Paillon) connect the New Town with the Old or Upper Town. This part, with narrow streets, clusters at the foot of a rocky height, the Castle Hill; on the other (east) side of this hill is the harbour, which was enlarged to twice its original size in 1889, and deepened to 25 feet. The Castle Hill is an isolated mass of limestone 318 feet high, formerly crowned by a strong castle, now in ruins, and is laid out in public gardens. The chief public buildings are the cathedral, the Gothic church of Notre Dame, the natural history museum, art gallery, library, observatory, casino, &c. The people manufacture artistic pottery, perfumery, and Italian pastes, grow flowers and southern fruits, the last of which they preserve, and produce inlay work in olive-wood. Most of these things are exported, chiefly by way of Genoa and Marseilles. The exports from the port of Nice range in annual value from £94,656 to £56,982, the greater portion being for olive-oil. The imports, varying from £570,687 to £1,809,590, consist of wine, oil, and cereals, with smaller quantities of coal, charcoal, timber, bran, and flour. The ancient Ligurian town of Nicæa, founded by a colony of Phœcæans from Massalia (Marseilles), became subject to Rome in the 2d century B.C. It was in the hands of the Saracens during the greater part of the 10th century. Then, after existing as an independent city, it acknowledged the supremacy of the Counts of Provence and the House of Savoy (1388). In 1543 it was taken and pillaged by the Turks under Barbarossa. From 1600 onwards it was repeatedly taken by the French; and they kept possession of it from 1792 to 1814. In 1860 it was ceded to France by Sardinia (Savoy). Masséna was born near to the city, and Garibaldi in it. See Nash, Guide to Nice (1884).