Grimaldi Castle
The Grimaldi Castle is the palace converted old castle in the medieval district of Haut de Cagnes the southern French town of Cagnes-sur-Mer , which is used as a museum. The French name is Château-Musée Grimaldi .
history
The castle was built around 1300 on behalf of the French admiral Rainier Grimaldi, Seigneur de Cagnes. He belonged to the Antibes branch of the Grimaldis and is an ancestor of the now known royal family of Monaco . The castle was used for observation and defense. The Haut de Cagnes district developed under the protection of the castle on the mountain top, and its structure is still largely preserved today. Around 1620, Baron Jean-Henri Grimaldi converted the castle into a residential palace. A shady patio , a grand staircase and two-story gallery corridors were created in the inner courtyard . The interiors were decorated in the baroque style. The castle is still largely preserved in this state. During the French Revolution it was sold to the Gerbaud family and in 1873 to the Gerecke family. In 1937 the city of Cagnes-sur-Mer acquired the building.
Todays use
The building now houses a museum that includes various departments. In the basement there is the Olive Tree Museum, which shows historical exhibits on the subject of olive cultivation and processing. On the upper floor there is a permanent exhibition of pictures from the collection of the chanson singer Suzy Solidor , who spent the last 25 years of her life in Haut de Cagnes. In addition, changing exhibitions of contemporary artists take place on the upper floor. The museum is open every day except Tuesdays.
literature
- Christian Defaye: French castles. History and legends. Avanti, Neuenburg 1975, pp. 41-43.
- Claude Frégnac (Ed.): Merveilles des châteaux de Provence. Hachette, Paris 1965, pp. 70-75.
- Bernhard Laule, Ulrike Laule, Heinfried Wischermann: Art monuments in southern France. Provence, Cote d'Azur, Languedoc, Roussillon. Scientific Book Society, Darmstadt 1989, p. 391.
- Cathrin Rummel: France's most beautiful palaces and castles. 1st edition. Travel House Media, Munich 2012, ISBN 978-3-8342-8944-5 , pp. 366-367.
Web links
Coordinates: 43 ° 40 ′ 2 " N , 7 ° 8 ′ 45" E