Roquebrune-Cap-Martin

Roquebrune-Cap-Martin
Roquebrune-Cap-Martin
Administration
Country	France
Region	Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Department	Alpes-Maritimes
Arrondissement	Nice
Canton	Menton-Ouest
Intercommunality	Riviera française
Mayor	Patrick Césari (2008–2014)
Statistics
Elevation	0–800 m (0–2,600 ft)
Land area1	9.33 km2 (3.60 sq mi)
Population2	13,515  (2008)
- Density	1,449 /km2 (3,750 /sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code	06104/ 06190
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.
2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

Roquebrune-Cap-Martin (Ròcabruna Caup Martin in Occitan, Roccabruna-Capo Martino in Italian) is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in southeastern France between Monaco and Menton. The name was changed from Roquebrune to differentiate the town from Roquebrune-sur-Argens in the neighboring Var Department.

History

In pre-Roman times the area was settled by the Ligurians. Traces of their language can be still found in the local dialect. The commune (originally known as Roccabruna) was founded in 970 by Conrad I, count of Ventimiglia, in order to protect his western border.

In 1355, Roccabruna fell under the control of the Grimaldi family of Monaco for five centuries, during which time the castle was strengthened.

In 1793, Roquebrune became French for the first time, changing the name from the original Roccabruna, but it was returned to Monaco in 1814. In 1804 Napoleon built a road along the coastline. This road connected the village to the rest of the Côte d'Azur, and eventually led to its merger with the smaller town of Cap-Martin.

In 1848, there was a revolution related to the Italian Risorgimento, with the result that Roccabruna and Menton became free cities under the protection of the Savoy Prince. They hoped to be part of the Kingdom of Sardinia, but this did not occur, and the towns after two years of independence were put under Savoyan administration (but nominally still under the Prince of Monaco). They remained in a state of political limbo from 1849 until were finally ceded to France by a plebiscite in 1861.

Map of the territory of the "Free cities of Mentone & Roccabruna" in 1848

Giuseppe Garibaldi, who promoted the union of the County of Nice to Italy, complained that the plebiscite was not done with "universal vote" and consequently Roccabruna was requested by Italian irredentists.

As a consequence of these irredentism ideals, during World War II all the coastal area between Italy and Monte Carlo was occupied and administered by the Kingdom of Italy until September 1943.

Roquebrune-Cap-Martin today

Today Roquebrune-Cap-Martin comprises several villages and towns: St.Roman, practically a suburb of Monaco, the residential areas of Cabbé, Bon Voyage and Serret, Roquebrune with its perched village and château, the posh Cap Martin peninsula and the modern seaside resort of Carnolès with its long pebble beach bordering Menton.

All the area has a huge tourism activity, mainly from April to October.

Population

Historical population of Roquebrune-Cap-Martin

Year	1793	1800	1806	1858	1861	1866	1872	1876	1881	1886
Population	637	884	644	836	844	887	828	847	1068	1135

Year	1891	1896	1901	1906	1911	1921	1926	1931	1936	1946
Population	2157	2588	2744	3304	5337	5318	6462	6888	6133	4610

Year	1954	1962	1968	1975	1982	1990	1999	2008
Population	5279	6529	8345	10,996	12,450	12,376	11,692	13,515

Culture

The local dialect actually is linguistically part of the mentonasque of the Païs Mentounasc, a cultural area between the Ligurian dialects and the Occitan language.

Since 1861 the use of the French language has increased enormously in the city, and now only a minority of the 11,692 inhabitants still speaks the original dialect of Roccabruna.

Twin towns

• Profondeville, Belgium

See also

• List of historical unrecognized states
• Former countries in Europe after 1815
• Grotte du Vallonnet
• Han van Meegeren the well-known art-forger lived in Roquebrune and painted here his famous Vermeer fake Supper at Emmaus

References

• INSEE

External links

• http://www.roquebrunecapmartin.fr