Monégasque culture is the heritage of social norms and technologies that originated in or are associated with the Monégasque microstate, from the 6th century to present day. The culture of Monaco is heavily influenced by its neighboring countries (France, Spain and Italy), as well as countries that have had full or partial control over the country's small area in the past (the Holy Roman Empire, the Republic of Genoa, the Kingdom of Sardinia, and Nazi Germany). Despite being such a small nation, Monaco has managed to stay independent for most of its existence.[1] This has allowed the country to develop some of its own unique culture. Despite the nation's sovereignty, the majority of its population are not Monégasque. Native Monégasques are a minority in their own country: the largest group are French nationals at 28.4%, followed by Monégasque (21.6%), Italian (18.7%), and British (7.5%).[2] As a result of these many factors, Monégasque culture is thought of less as it's own distinct culture, but as a conglomeration of the cultures of surrounding areas.
Religion edit
Religion in Monaco according to the Global Religious Landscape survey by the Pew Forum
Christianity edit
The main religion of the Monégasque city-state is Christianity, with it's followers comprising of 86% of the population.[3] According to Monaco 2012 International Religious Freedom Report, Roman Catholic Christians are Monaco's largest religious group, followed by Protestant Christians. The county has two Protestant churches, an Anglican church and a Reformed church, as well as various other Evangelical Protestant communities that gather periodically.
Catholicism edit
The official religion of Monaco is Catholicism, however freedom of other religions guaranteed by its constitution. There are five Catholic parish churches in Monaco and one cathedral, which is the seat of the archbishop of Monaco. There are five Catholic parish churches in Monaco and one cathedral, which is the seat of the archbishop of Monaco.
Anglican Communion edit
There is one Anglican church (St Paul's Church) in Monaco, located in the Avenue de Grande Bretagne in Monte Carlo. The church was dedicated in 1925. In 2007 this had a formal membership of 135 Anglican residents in the principality but was also serving a considerably larger number of Anglicans temporarily in the country, mostly as tourists. The church site also accommodates an English-language library of over 3,000 books.[4] The church is part of the Anglican Diocese in Europe.
Reformed Church of Monaco edit
Monaco has one Reformed church, which meets in a building located in Rue Louis Notari. The building dates from 1958 to 1959. The church is affiliated with the United Protestant Church of France (Église Protestante Unie de France, EPUF), a group that incorporates the former Reformed Church of France (Église Réformée de France). Through this affiliation with EPUF, the church is in the World Communion of Reformed Churches. The church acts as a host church to some other Christian communities, allowing them to use its building
Charismatic Episcopal Church edit
The Monaco Parish of the Charismatic Episcopal Church (Parish of St Joseph) dates from 2017 and meets in the Reformed Church's Rue Louis Notari building.
Christian Fellowship edit
The Monaco Christian Fellowship, formed in 1996, meets in the Reformed Church's Rue Louis Notari building.
Greek Orthodoxy edit
Monaco's 2012 International Religious Freedom Report states that there is one Greek Orthodox church in Monaco.
Russian Orthodox edit
The Russian Orthodox Parish of the Holy Royal Martyrs meets in the Reformed Church's Rue Louis Notari building.
Hinduism edit
According to the Monaco Statistics database (IMSEE), there are around 100 Hindus living in the country.[5]
Judaism edit
The Association Culturelle Israélite de Monaco (founded in 1948) is a converted house containing a synagogue, a community Hebrew school, and a kosher food shop, located in Monte Carlo.[6] The community mainly consists of retirees from Britain (40%) and North Africa. Half of the Jewish population is Sephardic, mainly from North Africa, while the other half is Ashkenazi.[7]
Islam edit
The Muslim population of Monaco consists of about 280 people, most of whom are residents, not citizens.[8] The majority of the Muslim population of Monaco are Arabs, though there is a Turkish minority as well. Monaco does not have any official mosques.[9]
Languages edit
The main and official language of Monaco is French, while Italian is spoken by the principality's sizable community from Italy. French and Italian are in fact more spoken in the principality than Monégasque, its historic vernacular language. A variety of Ligurian, Monégasque is not recognized as an official language; however, some signage appears in both French and Monégasque, and the language is taught in schools. English is also used.
Italian was the official language in Monaco until 1860, when it was replaced by French.[10] This was due to the annexation of the surrounding County of Nice to France following the Treaty of Turin (1860).
The Grimaldi, princes of Monaco, are of Ligurian origin; thus, the traditional national language is Monégasque, a variety of Ligurian, now spoken by only a minority of residents and as a common second language by many native residents. In Monaco-Ville, street signs are printed in both French and Monégasque.[11]
Literature edit
Monaco, being an incredibly small country, is not home to many authors, and therefore not many literary works have hailed from the nation. Some prominent authors have lived in Monaco, including:
Sports edit
Formula One edit
Since 1929, the Monaco Grand Prix has been held annually in the streets of Monaco.[12] It is widely considered to be one of the most prestigious automobile races in the world. The erection of the Circuit de Monaco takes six weeks to complete and the removal after the race takes another three weeks.[12]
The circuit is narrow and tight and its tunnel, tight corners and many elevation changes make it perhaps the most demanding Formula One track.[13] Driver Nelson Piquet compared driving the circuit to "riding a bicycle around your living room".
Despite the challenging nature of the course it has only had two fatalities, Luigi Fagioli who died from injuries received in practice for the 1952 Monaco Grand Prix (run to sports car regulations that year, not Formula 1)[14] and Lorenzo Bandini, who crashed, burned and died three days later from his injuries in 1967.[15] Two other drivers had lucky escapes after they crashed into the harbour, the most famous being Alberto Ascari in the 1955 Monaco Grand Prix and Paul Hawkins, during the 1965 race.[12]
In 2020, the Monaco Grand Prix was cancelled for the first time since 1954 because of the global COVID-19 pandemic.
Monégasque Formula 1 drivers edit
There have been five Formula One drivers from Monaco:
- Charles Leclerc (2018–present)
- Robert Doornbos (2005, Dutch driver under a Monégasque license)
- Olivier Beretta (1994)
- André Testut (1958–1959)
- Louis Chiron (1950–1958)
Formula E edit
Starting in 2015, Formula E started racing biennially with the Historic Grand Prix of Monaco on the Monaco ePrix[16] and used a shorter configuration of the full Formula 1 circuit, keeping it around Port Hercules until 2021.
ROKiT Venturi Racing is the only motor racing team based in the principality, headquartered in Fontvieille.[17] The marque competes in Formula E and was one of the founding teams of the fully-electric championship. Managed by former racing drivers Susie Wolff (CEO) and Jérôme d'Ambrosio (Team Principal),[18] the outfit holds 16 podiums in the series to date including five victories. 1997 Formula One World Champion Jacques Villeneuve and eleven-time Formula One race winner Felipe Massa have raced for the team previously.[19][20] Ten-time Macau winner and 2021 vice World Champion Edoardo Mortara and Season 3 Formula E champion Lucas di Grassi currently race for the team.[21]
Monte Carlo Rally edit
Since 1911 part of the Monte Carlo Rally has been held in the principality, originally held at the behest of Prince Albert I. Like the Grand Prix, the rally is organised by Automobile Club de Monaco. It has long been considered to be one of the toughest and most prestigious events in rallying and from 1973 to 2008 was the opening round of the World Rally Championship (WRC).[22] From 2009 until 2011, the rally served as the opening round of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge.[23] The rally returned to the WRC calendar in 2012 and has been held annually since.[24] Due to Monaco's limited size, all but the ending of the rally is held on French territory.
Football edit
Monaco hosts two major football teams in the principality: the men's football club, AS Monaco FC, and the women's football club, OS Monaco. AS Monaco plays at the Stade Louis II and competes in Ligue 1, the first division of French football. The club is historically one of the most successful clubs in the French league, having won Ligue 1 eight times (most recently in 2016–17) and competed at the top level for all but six seasons since 1953. The club reached the 2004 UEFA Champions League Final, with a team that included Dado Pršo, Fernando Morientes, Jérôme Rothen, Akis Zikos and Ludovic Giuly, but lost 3–0 to Portuguese team FC Porto. French World Cup-winners Thierry Henry, Fabien Barthez, David Trezeguet, and Kylian Mbappe have played for the club. The Stade Louis II also played host to the annual UEFA Super Cup from 1998 to 2012 between the winners of the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League.
The women's team, OS Monaco, competes in the women's French football league system. The club plays in the local regional league, deep down in the league system. It once played in the Division 1 Féminine, in the 1994–95 season, but was quickly relegated.
The Monaco national football team represents the nation in association football and is controlled by the Monégasque Football Federation, the governing body for football in Monaco. Monaco is one of two sovereign states in Europe (along with the Vatican City) that is not a member of UEFA and so does not take part in any UEFA European Football Championship or FIFA World Cup competitions. They are instead affiliated with CONIFA, where they compete against other national teams that are not FIFA members. The team plays its home matches in the Stade Louis II.
Rugby edit
Monaco's national rugby team, as of April 2019, is 101st in the World Rugby Rankings.[25]
Basketball edit
Multi-sport club AS Monaco owns AS Monaco Basket which was founded in 1928. They play in the top-tier European basketball league, the EuroLeague, and the French top flight, the LNB Pro A. They have three Pro A Leaders Cup, two Pro B (2nd-tier), and one NM1 (3rd-tier) championship. They play in Salle Gaston Médecin, which is part of Stade Louis II.
Professional boxing edit
Due in part to its position both as a tourist and gambling centre, Monaco has staged major professional boxing world title and non-title fights from time to time; those include the Carlos Monzon versus Nino Benvenuti rematch,[26] Monzon's rematch with Emile Griffith,[27] Monzon's two classic fights with Rodrigo Valdes,[28][29] Davey Moore versus Wilfredo Benitez,[30] the double knockout-ending classic between Lee Roy Murphy and Chisanda Mutti (won by Murphy),[31] and Julio César Chávez Sr. versus Rocky Lockridge.[32] All of the aforementioned contests took place at the first Stade Louis II or the second Stade Louis II stadiums.
Other sports edit
The Monte-Carlo Masters is held annually in neighbouring Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, France, as a professional tournament for men as part of tennis's ATP Masters Series.[33] The tournament has been held since 1897. Golf's Monte Carlo Open was also held at the Monte Carlo Golf Club at Mont Agel in France between 1984 and 1992.
Monaco has a national Davis Cup team, which plays in the European/African Zone.
Monaco has also competed in the Olympic Games, although, no athlete from Monaco has ever won an Olympic medal. At the Youth Olympic Winter Games, Monaco won a bronze medal in bobsleigh.
The 2009 Tour de France, the world's premier cycle race, started from Monaco with a 15 km (9 mi) closed-circuit individual time trial starting and finishing there on the first day, and the 182 km (113 mi) second leg starting there on the following day and ending in Brignoles, France.[34]
Monaco has also staged part of the Global Champions Tour (International Show-jumping).[35] In 2009, the Monaco stage of the Global Champions tour took place between 25 and 27 June.
The Monaco Marathon is the only marathon in the world to pass through three countries, those of Monaco, France and Italy, before the finish at the Stade Louis II.
The Monaco Ironman 70.3 triathlon race is an annual event with over 1,000 athletes competing and attracts top professional athletes from around the world. The race includes a 1.9 km (1.2 mi) swim, 90 km (56 mi) bike ride and 21.1 km (13.1 mi) run.
Since 1993, the headquarters of the International Association of Athletics Federations,[36] the world governing body of athletics, is located in Monaco.[37] An IAAF Diamond League meet is annually held at Stade Louis II.[38]
A municipal sports complex, the Rainier III Nautical Stadium in the Port Hercules district consists of a heated saltwater Olympic-size swimming pool, diving boards and a slide.[39] The pool is converted into an ice rink from December to March.[39]
In addition to Formula One, the Circuit de Monaco hosts several support series, including FIA Formula 2, Porsche Supercup and Formula Regional Europe.[40] It has in the past also hosted Formula Three and Formula Renault.
From 10 to 12 July 2014 Monaco inaugurated the Solar1 Monte Carlo Cup, a series of ocean races exclusively for solar-powered boats.[41],[42]
The women's team of the chess club CE Monte Carlo won the European Chess Club Cup several times.
References edit
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- ^ "General Population Census 2008: Population Recensee et Population Estimee" (PDF). 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 June 2011.
- ^ "Global Religious Landscape Survey" (PDF). web.archive.org. Retrieved 2024-04-11.
- ^ "Saint Paul's Church, Monte-Carlo". stpaulsmonaco.com. Archived from the original on 20 January 2018. Retrieved 28 May 2012.
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- ^ "Synagogues in Monte Carlo – Shuls in Monte Carlo – Jewish Temples in Monte Carlo". Mavensearch.com. 6 July 2007. Archived from the original on 24 October 2012. Retrieved 28 May 2012.
- ^ Details at Jewish Virtual Library Archived 15 July 2014 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Rogers, Simon (28 January 2011). "Muslim populations by country: how big will each Muslim population be by 2030?". the Guardian. Archived from the original on 1 August 2013. Retrieved 12 December 2016.
- ^ "Islam in Monaco". muslimpopulation.com. Archived from the original on 29 June 2017. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
- ^ "Il monegasco, una lingua che si studia a scuola ed è obbligatoria". Archived from the original on 17 August 2022.
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- ^ Kettlewell, Mike. "Monaco: Road Racing on the Riviera", in Northey, Tom, editor. World of Automobiles (London: Orbis, 1974), Volume 12, p.1383.
- ^ "Hulme Wins Monte Carlo; Bandini Hurt", Sheboygan Press, 8 May 1967, Page 13.
- ^ Watkins, Gary. "Formula E set to race on shorter version of Monaco circuit". Autosport.com. Archived from the original on 12 May 2019. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
- ^ "Leonardo DiCaprio forms racing team to help speed up electric car sales". BBC News. 9 December 2013. Archived from the original on 26 April 2021. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
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