Fontvieille

Coming to Monaco was not high on my list. I’m probably the person least likely to enjoy a city that is nothing but a playground for people who are extremely rich, extremely famous, or extremely beautiful. After being here I see that Monaco is all of the above. However, there are some remarkable features to this fairy land kingdom. For one thing, there is no income tax here. The vast majority of the country’s income is derived from gambling and luxury taxes on expensive cars boats and helicopters. Although many of the buildings look old, most are relatively new. A section of the palace was built in the thirteenth century, but with renovations and reconstructions, I would swear that not a single stone of the “old” part is over one hundred years old. The result is that all of the buildings here are utterly beautiful, especially the opulent casino. There is not a piece of litter nor a mark of graffiti in the streets. Every public toilet has a full time janitor keeping it spotless. Already streets are blocked and grandstands are being built for the formula I auto race that will take place on the main streets at the end of May.

Before one can move here, he is required by the government to open an account in a bank in Monaco and deposit enough money to buy an apartment and sustain the kind of lifestyle expected here. This is the only place I’ve ever been where most of the women I see on the street (except for tourists) are wearing clothes and makeup that probably cost more than my car. Most really do look as though they just stepped out of the pages of Vogue magazine. Yet their beauty is not all cosmetic. From the time our ship arrived early this morning I have seen women (and a few men) of various ages out on a dockside exercise area receiving coaching in kickboxing, judo, and weightlifting. They were working hard.

People of my generation remember the wedding of movie star Grace Kelly to Prince Renier in 1956. It was depicted as a union that would make the girl from Philadelphia the Princess of a fairytale kingdom. I assumed all of that myth was merely Hollywood hype. Now that I have come here, I see there was more than a grain of truth in that description. Renier, like his father Prince Albert I, was an absolute monarch, but both were also astute businessmen who ran the kingdom like a corporation. The wealth concentrated here is truly astounding. The 64-year-old son of Renier and Princess Grace, Albert II, is the current monarch, and he is more concerned with the environment and with social issues. A special interest is the preservation and renewal of the oceans. He has founded an institute for oceanographic studies that operates a fantastic museum and aquarium, which we were privileged to visit today.

Monaco is a remarkable place of unusual beauty. The oceanfront on this windy day is magnificent. The architecture is glorious. I do hope you can come here one day—for a visit, of course. No one I know could afford to live here.Leggi altro