Number 15

The article deals with the history of the White penitents of Monaco, from their origins in the 13th and 14th centuries, to their disappearance, during the revolutionary period in the 18th century. The author also covers the feasts, ceremonies, services and customs linked to the function of the White Penitents, as well as the chapels devoted to them. (full text in French)

In the end of the 19th century, Nietzsche, a music lover, often went to Nice during winter and enjoyed live music in Monte-Carlo. While his relationship with Wagner got worse, he was completely upset by the prelude of Parsifal, during a concert in December 1886. Nevertheless, this episode stood for the rediscovery of French and Italian music. (full text in French)

In the beginning of the 20th century, Raoul Gunsbourg, director of the Monte-Carlo Theater from 1893 to 1951, dreamt about the creation of Parsifal by Wagner. This project was initially impossible as the composer had given the exclusivity of his score to the Beyrouth Theater, for thirty years after his death, that is to say in January 1st 1914. Gunsbourg made his dream come true in January 1914, and it was a huge success. (full text in French)

In 1859, Théodore de Banville stayed in Nice for seven months. He wrote some chronicles published in “Le Moniteur universel”, from January 7th to June 6th 1860. Those chronicles were then gathered in a book entitled “La mer de Nice”, in which Théodore de Banville dedicated five chapters to the Principality of Monaco. He described each aspect of the city and its inhabitants, and presented Monaco as heaven on earth. (full text in French)

Relying on the “Status Animarum” by Don Pacchiero, census of Monaco in the 17th century, this study deals with several aspects of the population nature in Monaco in the 17th century : population pyramid, life expectancy, social category, family setting, names and first names, foreigner status, population move, domestics, jobs, etc… (full text in French)

Daughter of Louis I de Lorraine, count of Armagnac, Marie de Lorraine married Prince Antoine I of Monaco in Versailles in 1688. The princess did not get along with her husband; she stayed in Versailles where she had a successful part within the French court and she rarely came to Monaco. She died in 1724. Through Marie de Lorraine’s life, this study illustrates some features of her time. (full text in French)