La Turbie (; ; ) is a commune in the

Alpes-Maritimes Alpes-Maritimes (; ; ; ) is a Departments of France, department of France located in the country's southeast corner, on the France–Italy border, Italian border and Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast. Part of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'A ...

department in southeastern

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

History

La Turbie was famous in Roman times for the large monument, the Trophy of Augustus, that Augustus made to celebrate his victory over the Ligurian tribes of the area. During the Middle Ages, the village (called then ''Turbia'') was mainly under the dominion of the

Republic of Genoa The Republic of Genoa ( ; ; ) was a medieval and early modern Maritime republics, maritime republic from the years 1099 to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italy, Italian coast. During the Late Middle Ages, it was a major commercial power in ...

. Dante wrote in his ''Divina Commedia'' that Turbia was the western limit of the Italian

Liguria Liguria (; ; , ) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is roughly coextensive with ...

. It was alternatively part of

Savoy Savoy (; )  is a cultural-historical region in the Western Alps. Situated on the cultural boundary between Occitania and Piedmont, the area extends from Lake Geneva in the north to the Dauphiné in the south and west and to the Aosta Vall ...

or the

Principality of Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, on the Mediterranean Sea. It is a semi-enclave borde ...

, from where the population of Turbia has assimilated the dialect '' Monegasque'', even if the local Ligurian

dialect A dialect is a Variety (linguistics), variety of language spoken by a particular group of people. This may include dominant and standard language, standardized varieties as well as Vernacular language, vernacular, unwritten, or non-standardize ...

has maintained some characteristics of the nearby Niçois of Nice. Actually the local dialect is nearly extinct, mainly after the 1860 inclusion of the Sardinian

County of Nice The County of Nice (; ; Niçard ) was a historical region of France and Italy located around the southeastern city of Nice and roughly equivalent to the modern arrondissement of Nice. It was part of the Savoyard state within the Holy Roman Emp ...

. La Turbie is the cradle of automobile mountain races. On 31 January 1897, the last stage of the Marseilles-Nice race was a 17 km hillclimb between

Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one million André Michelin André Jules Michelin (16 January 1853 – 4 April 1931) was a French industrialist who, with his brother Édouard (1859–1940), founded the Michelin Tyre Company (''Compagnie Générale des Établissements Michelin'') in 1888 in the French ...

, at the wheel of a De Dion powered by a steam engine, won the race at the incredible average speed of 31.8 km per h. On 30 March 1900, German driver Wilhelm Bauer crashed and died, being the first driver killed during a hillclimb speed event. On 1 April 1903, William Eliot Morris Zborowski, Count de Montsaulvain, died at the wheel of his Mercedes nearly at the same place as Bauer. As reported in The New York Times, 2 April 1903, the French Minister of the Interior ordered the Prefect of Alpes-Maritimes to "stop the further use of the Nice-La Turbie course for automobiles." The race organizer, the Nice Automobile Club, obtained the lift of the ban in 1909 and the race resumed. From 1968 to 1995, nearly the same route was used for the last stage of the cyclist race Paris-Nice (excepting 1977). This time trial often decided the final winner of Paris-Nice. In 1972, Raymond Poulidor defeated

Eddy Merckx Édouard Louis Joseph, Baron Merckx (born 17 June 1945), known as Eddy Merckx (, ), is a Belgian former professional road and track cyclist racer who is the most successful rider in the history of competitive cycling. His victories include an ...

, who had defeated

Jacques Anquetil Jacques Anquetil (; 8 January 1934 – 18 November 1987) was a French road racing cyclist and the first cyclist to win the Tour de France five times, in 1957 and from 1961 to 1964. He stated before the 1961 Tour that he would gain the ye ...

three years before. Sean Kelly, seven-time winner of Paris-Nice (1981-1988), won the La Turbie hillclimb five times. On 13 September 1982, Princess Grace de Monaco was killed in a car accident at

Cap-d'Ail Cap-d'Ail (; ; or ''Capo d'Aglio'') is a seaside Communes of France, commune in the Alpes-Maritimes Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region in Southeastern France. Geography Cap-d'Ail bor ...

, near La Turbie, but on a road called "Route de la Turbie". The commune formerly included the communes of Beausoleil and Cap-d'Ail, which was disestablished at the beginning of the 20th century. Only the old main town, around the remaining structure of the Roman Trophy of Augustus, forms the current commune.

Geography

The boundaries of La Turbie were formerly more extensive and included the territory now contained in the town of Beausoleil, formerly known as Haut-Monte-Carlo, owing to its proximity to

Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...

. The commune of La Turbie retains a smaller, common boundary with part of the

Principality A principality (or sometimes princedom) is a type of monarchy, monarchical state or feudalism, feudal territory ruled by a prince or princess. It can be either a sovereign state or a constituent part of a larger political entity. The term "prin ...

. La Turbie can be reached either from Cap-d'Ail on the coast or the Grand Corniche. Within the town is the Trophy of Augustus, also known as the Trophée des Alpes.

Sights

A limestone outcrop above La Turbie is called the Tête de Chien ("head of dog"), a folk etymology deriving from its former name, ''Testa de camp'' ("head of (military) camp").''A Book of the Riviera'', Sabine Baring-Gould, 1905 La Turbie is built, partly, with old stones recovered from the ruins of the Trophy of the Alpes ( Trophy of Augustus), a Roman monument built by the

Emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

Augustus Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...

to celebrate his victory over the Ligurian tribes which lived in the mountains of the area and attacked the merchants plying the Roman trade routes. The association football club

AS Monaco FC Association Sportive de Monaco Football Club, commonly referred to as AS Monaco (), is a professional association football, football club based in Fontvieille, Monaco, Fontvieille, Monaco. Although not in France, they are a member of the Frenc ...

have their training ground in La Turbie since 1981. The training center is located in an old quarry and has 2 natural grass pitches as well as an artificial turf "small pitch".

Population

Twin towns — sister cities

La Turbie is twinned with: * Sarre, Aosta Valley, Italy

Personalities

*Prince Albert II of

owns a 56 acres estate, Roc Agel, on the slopes of

Mont Agel Mont Agel is a mountain in the Maritime Alps on the border between France and Monaco. The summit of this mount, at above sea level, is on the French side, but the highpoint of Monaco, lying on a pathway named Chemin des Révoires, is on its slo ...

. *

Rudolf Nureyev Rudolf Khametovich Nureyev (17 March 19386 January 1993) was a Soviet-born ballet dancer and choreographer. Nureyev is widely regarded as the preeminent male ballet dancer of his generation as well as one of the greatest ballet dancers of all ...

had a residence in La Turbie until 1993.

In pop culture

La Turbie was one of the locations where the 1998 film '' Ronin'' was filmed. La Turbie also featured as a location in the 1943 novel "Biggles Fails to Return" by author Captain W.E. Johns.

References

External links

*
Trophy of Augustus (site with photos)
.
Discover La Turbie
{{DEFAULTSORT:Turbie Communes of Alpes-Maritimes French Riviera France–Monaco border crossings Ligurian language (Romance) Alpes-Maritimes communes articles needing translation from French Wikipedia