Menton: Difference between revisions

|native name={{native name|lij|Mentun}}}}

'''Menton''' ({{IPA-|fr|mɑ̃tɔ̃|lang}}; {{IPA-oc|menˈta|lang}} [[Template:IPA-oc|[mɛnˈtɑ̃]]], written ''Menton'' in classical norm or ''Mentan'' in [[Mistralian norm]]; {{lang-langx|it|Mentone}} {{IPA-|it|menˈtoːne|}}) is a [[Commune in France|commune]] in the [[Alpes-Maritimes]] [[Departments of France|department]] in the [[Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur]] [[Regions of France|region]] on the [[French Riviera]], close to the Italian border.

Menton has always been a frontier town. Since the end of the 14th century, it has been on the border between the [[County of Nice]], held by the [[Duchy of Savoy|Duke of Savoy]], and the [[Republic of Genoa]]. It was an [[exclave]] of the [[Principality of Monaco]] until the disputed French plebiscite of 1860, when it was added to France. It had been always a fashionable tourist centre with grand mansions and gardens. Its temperate Mediterranean climate is especially favourable to the citrus industry, with which it is strongly identified.

Although the name's spelling and pronunciation in [[French language|French]] are identical to those for the word that means "chin", there does not seem to be any link with this French word. According to the French geographer [[Toponymie générale de la France|Ernest Nègre]], the name ''Menton'' comes from the [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] name ''Mento''.<ref>Ernest Nègre, ''[[Toponymie générale de la France|General Toponym of France]] : Etymology of 35,000 place names'', Geneva : Librairie Droz, 1990. Volume&nbsp;I : Pre-Celtic, Celtic, and Roman names, § 11 118, p 664 (in French).</ref> However, it is possible that the name of the city comes from ''Mons Ottonis'' (reconstituted) from the name of Otton&nbsp;II, the count of [[Ventimiglia, Italy|Ventimiglia]] from 1162-1200.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.mentonnais.org/html/extranet/histoire.html|title=Fondation de Menton}}</ref> In [[Mentonasc]], the city's name is ''Mentan'' ({{IPA-oc|mẽˈtãmɛ(n)ˈtã|pron}}), and in Italian ''Mentone'' ({{IPA-|it|menˈtoːne|}}).

The Menton area has been inhabited since the [[Paleolithic]] era, and is the site of the original "[[Grimaldi Man]]" find of early [[Anatomically modern humans|modern humans]], as well as remains of [[Neanderthal]]s and [[Cro-Magnon]]s.<ref>Émile Rivière, [https://books.google.com/books?id=TvpaAAAAQAAJ ''Découverte d'un Squelette Humain de l'Époque Paléolithique Dans les Cavernes des Baoussé-Rousse dites Grottes de Menton''] (''Discovery of a Human Skeleton from the Paleolithic in the Caverns of Baoussé-Rousse also known as the Grottes de Menton''), (J.-B. Baillière et Fils, Paris, 1873) (in French)</ref> In [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] times, the [[Via Julia Augusta]], a road connecting Placentia (now [[Piacenza]]) with Arelates (now [[Arles]]) passed through Menton, running along the Rue Longue in the old town.<ref>[http://www.menton.fr/article.php3?id_article=492 ''La rue Longue''] (Official site of the town of Menton, accessed April 2009) (in French)</ref>

Acquired in 1346 by [[Charles I, Lord of Monaco|Charles Grimaldi]], Lord of Monaco, Menton was ruled by the [[princes of Monaco]] until the [[French Revolution]].{{citation needed|date=November 2022}} Annexed during the Revolution, Menton remained part of France through the [[First French Empire|First Empire]]. It belonged to the district of [[Sanremo]] in the department of [[Alpes-Maritimes]], which at the time included Monaco and Sanremo.

'''Menton''' has a very mild subtropical microclimate with an average of 316 clear or mostly clear/mostly sunny days per year. Under the [[Köppen climate classification|Köppen system]], Menton features a [[Hot-summer mediterraneanMediterranean climate|hot-summer mediterraneanMediterranean climate (''Csa'')]]. However, the milder winters (on average) and the warmer nights in summer (on average), compared to the rest of the French Mediterranean coastal area, provide Menton with a particular micro-climate, with significant [[Warm-summer mediterraneanMediterranean climate|warm-summer mediterraneanMediterranean climate (''Csb'')]] influences and characteristics, like coastal [[Southern California]]. This is usually experienced atalong the coast between [[Nice]] and '''Menton''', toward the Italian border town of [[Ventimiglia]] and as far as [[Sanremo|San Remo]]). It is favourable to groves of hardy [[clementines]], [[mandarin oranges]], [[satsuma orange]], [[tangerine]]s, [[Orange (fruit)|oranges]] and [[lemons]] ('''SRA 625''' is protected '''Citron de Menton''' variety), hence one of the town's symbols, the [[lemon]]. Winter frosts are extremely rare but may occasionally occur at ground level, and snow falls on average once every 10 years. Likewise, summer temperatures are relatively moderate with day temperatures of 28&nbsp;°C–32C to 32&nbsp;°C, but rarely rising above 3332&nbsp;°C. Menton benefits from the subtropical temperate climate of the Côte d'Azur, and particularly a mild microclimate with a warm subtropical tendency.

There are on average 316 days of sunshine per year. TownMenton is in fact sheltered from the west winds by Mont-Agel, and the steep foothills of the Alps, to the north and the north-east, protect the town from freezing winter cold. The winters are therefore very mild and sunny; the thermometer rarely drops below 0°C, and the lowest average temperature is 11.3°C in January. Summers are hot at 25°C on average in July and August, but tempered by the sea breeze.

File:France-Italy Border Checkpoint, Menton.jpg|The Pont Saint-Ludovic / Ponte San Ludovico border crossing point between Menton, France, and [[Ventimiglia, Italy]]

Menton is known for its gardens, including the [[Jardin Serre de la Madone]], the [[Jardin botanique exotique de Menton]] ('Le Val Rahmeh'), the [[Fontana Rosa]], the Maria Serena garden, and the modernist gardens of [[Les Colombières]].<ref name="Men">{{cite web|title=The "Colombières" garden|url=http://www.menton.com/pages-gb/jardins-colombieres.html|work=Menton – Gardens|publisher=Menton.com|access-date=17 November 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131206052335/http://www.menton.com/pages-gb/jardins-colombieres.html|archive-date=6 December 2013}}</ref> Le Val Rahmeh was established in 1905 by Englishman Sir Percy Radcliffe, the first owner of the gardens, and named for his wife. Villa Fontana Rosa was built in 1922 by [[Blasco Ibáñez]], a Spanish novelist, and the gardens of the villa are now open to the public.

* The [[baroque]] [[basilica]] of Saint-Michel-Archange, with its belltowerbell tower, was built in 1619 by the Genoese architect Lorenzo Lavagna.

* The [[Bastion Museum]], which features decoration by [[Jean Cocteau]], is located in the Bastion of the port of Menton. The bastion, built overwater in 1636 as an advance defensedefence for the port by the Princes of Monaco, is now located at the shoreline.

* The [[Sciences Po Paris|Institut d'Etudes politiques de Paris]], the leading French university in social and political sciences, also known as Sciences Po, hostshas been hosting a regional Middle East and Mediterranean campus in Menton since 2005.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://menton.html/|title=Menton campus &#124; Sciences Po Undergraduate College|date=February 24, 2017|website=menton.html}}{{Dead link|date=September 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

The ''[[Mentonasc]]'' dialect is currently spoken by about 10% of the population in Menton, [[Roquebrune-Cap-Martin|Roquebrune]], and the surrounding villages.{{Citation needed|date=January 2010}} It is taught within the [[Education in France|French educational system]], as a variety of [[Niçard]] (i.e. [[Provençal dialect|Provençal]] and [[Occitan language|Occitan]]). However, in nineteenth-century linguistic descriptions,<ref>James Bruny Andrews, [https://books.google.com/books?id=f-oNAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA97 ''Il dialetto di Mentone, in quanto egli tramezzi ideologicamente tra il provenzale e il ligure''] (''The dialect of Menton, in which it is ideologically intermediate between Provençal and Ligurian'') in ''Archivio Glottologico Italiano'' XII, 1890/92, pp. 97-106. (in English)</ref> as well as in contemporary linguistic scholarship,<ref>J.-P. Dalbera, ''Interférences entre provençal et ligurien dans la génèse du système morphologique mentonnais'' (''Interferences between [[Provençal dialect|Provençal]] and [[Ligurian (Romance language)|Ligurian]] in the genesis of the Mentonnais morphological system'') in ''Bulletin du Centre de romanistique et de latinité tardive'' 4-5, Nice, 1989, pp. 89-97.</ref><ref>W. Forner ''L'Intemelia linguistica'', in [http://www.intemelion.it/intemel1.htm ''Intemelion'' '''1'''], [[Sanremo]], 1995, pp. 67-82. (in Italian)</ref><ref>''Le mentonnais entre toutes les chaises ?'' in ''Lexique Français-Mentonnais'' (Caserio & al. 2001) (in French)</ref> Mentonasc is described as an intermediate between Niçard and the [[Intemelio]] dialect of [[Ligurian language (Romance)|Ligurian]]. Some scholars insist that Mentonasc is, at its base, a Ligurian dialect, with French influences coming only later.<ref>Werner Forner.''À propos du ligurien intémélien'' - La côte, l'arrière-pays, Travaux du Cercle linguistique de Nice, 7-8, 1986, pp. 29-62.</ref>

* [[Richard Anconina]] (born 1953), French actor; before his film career. Hehe worked for several years at a holiday club for seniors in Menton.

* [[Morton Betts]] (1847-19141847–1914), Leading English sportsman of the late 19th Centurycentury. Scored the first goal in an English [[FA Cup Final]]. Died in Menton.

* [[Joseph Joffo]] (1931–2018), French author. He lived temporarily in Menton during [[World War&nbsp; II]].

Menton is [[Twin towns and sister cities|twinned]] with:<ref>{{cite web |title=Villes jumelées|url=https://www.menton.fr/Villes-jumelees.html|website=menton.fr|publisher=Menton|language=fr|access-date=2019-11-20}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Laguna Beach/Menton Relations|url=https://lagunabeachsistercities.com/laguna-menton/|website=lagunabeachsistercities.comLaguna Beach Sister Cities |publisher=Laguna Beach|access-date=2019-11-20}}</ref>