Difference between revisions of "Cannes" - New World Encyclopedia
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[[Image:Cannes SPOT 1160.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Cannes seen from Spot Satellite]] | [[Image:Cannes SPOT 1160.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Cannes seen from Spot Satellite]] | ||
[[Image:Marg2.JPG|thumb|left|250px|View of the [[Île Sainte-Marguerite]], including the Fort Royal and the village of Sainte-Marguerite.]] | [[Image:Marg2.JPG|thumb|left|250px|View of the [[Île Sainte-Marguerite]], including the Fort Royal and the village of Sainte-Marguerite.]] | ||
| − | The name may derive from "canna", a [[Reed (plant)|reed]], because the shore was once covered with reeds. Cannes is located on the crescent of the Gulf of Napoule, backed by a line of wooded hills. | + | The name may derive from "canna", a [[Reed (plant)|reed]], because the shore was once covered with reeds. Cannes is located on the crescent of the Gulf of Napoule, and is backed by a line of wooded hills. |
| − | Cannes has a [[Mediterranean]] climate | + | Cannes has a [[Mediterranean]] climate, with January temperatures ranging from 43°F to 55°F (6°C to 13°C), and July, from 68°F to 81°F (20°C to 27°C). Despite high daytime temperatures during summer, from May to September, a Mediterranean breeze keeps summer evenings pleasant and cool. In winter, from December to February, the weather is mild. Both seasons have a relatively low rainfall, and most rain falls during October and November. Average annual precipitation is 21 inches (530mm). |
| − | + | Off the coast from Cannes, the Lérins Islands include the [[Île Sainte-Marguerite]] and the [[Île Saint-Honorat]], as well as the smaller [[Îlot Saint-Ferréol]] and [[Îlot de la Tradelière]], which are uninhabited. | |
The city of Cannes covers an area of 7.5 square miles (19.62 square kilometers). The 7.4-mile (12km) long, beautiful and glamorous stretch of La Croisette is the main tourist attraction. A breathtaking waterfront avenue lined with palm trees, La Croisette is known for its picturesque beaches studded with world-class resorts, restaurants, cafes, and designer boutiques. | The city of Cannes covers an area of 7.5 square miles (19.62 square kilometers). The 7.4-mile (12km) long, beautiful and glamorous stretch of La Croisette is the main tourist attraction. A breathtaking waterfront avenue lined with palm trees, La Croisette is known for its picturesque beaches studded with world-class resorts, restaurants, cafes, and designer boutiques. | ||
Revision as of 01:26, 15 August 2008
Commune of Cannes
| |
| Location | |
| Longitude | 7.012753 |
| Latitude | 43.551347 |
| Administration | |
|---|---|
| Country |  France
|
| Region | Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur |
| Department | Alpes-Maritimes |
| Arrondissement | Grasse |
| Mayor | Bernard Brochand (2001-2008) |
| Statistics | |
| Altitude | 0–260 m |
| Land area¹ | 19.62 km² |
| Population² (2007) |
70,400 |
| - Density (1999) | 3430/km² |
| Miscellaneous | |
| INSEE/Postal code | 06029/ 06400 |
| ¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
| ² Population sans doubles comptes: single count of residents of multiple communes (e.g. students and military personnel). | |
| |
Cannes (IPA: [kan], in Occitan Canas) is one of the best-known cities of the French Riviera in southeastern France. It is a busy tourist destination and host of the annual Cannes Film Festival. With a population of 70,400 in 2007, Cannes is the home of numerous luxurious houses and mansions as well as many high-end gated communities. The city is also famous for its various luxury stores, fancy restaurants, and prestigious hotels.
Geography
The name may derive from "canna", a reed, because the shore was once covered with reeds. Cannes is located on the crescent of the Gulf of Napoule, and is backed by a line of wooded hills.
Cannes has a Mediterranean climate, with January temperatures ranging from 43°F to 55°F (6°C to 13°C), and July, from 68°F to 81°F (20°C to 27°C). Despite high daytime temperatures during summer, from May to September, a Mediterranean breeze keeps summer evenings pleasant and cool. In winter, from December to February, the weather is mild. Both seasons have a relatively low rainfall, and most rain falls during October and November. Average annual precipitation is 21 inches (530mm).
Off the coast from Cannes, the Lérins Islands include the Île Sainte-Marguerite and the Île Saint-Honorat, as well as the smaller Îlot Saint-Ferréol and Îlot de la Tradelière, which are uninhabited.
The city of Cannes covers an area of 7.5 square miles (19.62 square kilometers). The 7.4-mile (12km) long, beautiful and glamorous stretch of La Croisette is the main tourist attraction. A breathtaking waterfront avenue lined with palm trees, La Croisette is known for its picturesque beaches studded with world-class resorts, restaurants, cafes, and designer boutiques.
Le Suquet is the quaint historic quarter of Cannes, built on the site of a Roman military camp. It is the highest point in Cannes where lies the remains of the fortified tower and the 12th century Chapel of St Anne. Le Suquet offers tourists breathtaking view of La Croisette.
More peaceful residential neighbourhoods, such as La Bocca, surround the lively city centre.
History
There were civilisations in the Cannes area by the second century B.C.E. Ligurian tribesmen created a settlement there known as Aegitna. It was occupied by Phocaeans, from central Greece, and Celts. The area was a fishing village used as a port of call between the Lérins Islands.
In 69 C.E., the area became the scene of violent conflict between the troops of Othos, a village in Karpathos, Greece, and Roman Emperor Vitellius. Roman tombs in the area suggest Romans had an outpost on Le Suquet hill. The Lérins islands were inhabited during Roman times.
Saint Honoratus (350-429), who went to one island as a hermit, founded the monastery of Lérins on the Île de Saint-Honorat, around the year 410. According to tradition, Saint Patrick (378-493), patron of Ireland, studied there. It was in this monastery that Saint Porcarius lived and probably was killed during an invasion by Muslim sea raiders around 732.
A fortified monastery was built between the eleventh and fourteenth centuries. The monastic community today lives in a monastery built during the nineteenth century.
An attack by Muslim sea raiders in 891, who remained until the end of the 10th century, devastated the country around Canua. The insecurity of the Lérin islands forced the monks to settle on the mainland, at the Suquet. A castle was built in 1035 to fortify city, by then known as Cannes, to guard against Muslim raiders. Construction of two towers on the Lérin Islands was started at the end of the 11th century. One took a century to build, the other three. Around 1530, Cannes became independent of control by the monks.
In 1635 the Île de Saint-Honorat was captured by the Spanish and the monks were expelled. They returned from exile in Vallauris two years later, when the island was retaken by the French.
The Île Sainte-Marguerite held a fortress where The Man in the Iron Mask was held captive from 1687 until he died in 1703. Under the French Revolution (1789–1799), the Île Sainte-Marguerite and the Île Saint-Honorat were renamed the Île Marat and the Île Lepeletier, after secular martyrs.
French general Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821) camped with his army outside the village in February 1815, on the first night away from Elba.
English Lord Henry Brougham (1778-1868), who became Lord Chancellor of the United Kingdom, began Cannes' reputation as a resort. When prevented by quarantine rules from entering Nice in 1834, he went to the nearby fishing village of Cannes instead. He liked the experience so returned every winter for 34 years. He bought land at the Croix des Gardes and constructed the villa Eleonore-Louise. His work to improve living conditions attracted the English aristocracy, who also built winter residences.
In June 1838, construction of Cannes harbor began. This brought new life to the community and the population increased.
In 1859, the Île de Saint-Honorat was bought by the Bishop of Fréjus, who sought to re-establish a religious community there. Ten years later, a Cistercian community was founded, which has remained there since.
In March 1898 the harbor was completed, and the Casino Municipal, a luxury establishment for the rich winter clientèle, and the Esplanade des Alliés were built on each side. Cannes depended on sea trade, fishing, agriculture, and small enterprises. At that time, railways were completed in Cannes, and streetcars were running. The Boulevard Carnot, the Rue d'Antibes, and the Carlton Hotel on the Promenade de la Croisette were constructed.
With the 20th century came luxury hotels, such as the Miramar and the Martinez, a sports centre, a post office, and schools. There were fewer British and German tourists after World War I (1914-1918), but more Americans. Winter tourism gave way to summer tourism and the summer casino at the Palm Beach was constructed.
The city council had the idea of an international film festival shortly before World War II (1939-1945). The first opened on September 20, 1946, held in the Casino Municipal. The casino was demolished and replaced by the new Palace in 1979.
Government
Cannes, including the Lérins Islands, is a commune of the Alpes-Maritimes département in the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur région of metropolitan (European) France. Cannes is governed by a municipal council and a mayor. The Alpes-Maritimes département is governed by a locally elected conseil général (general council) and a president. The conseil général passes laws on matters that concern the department; it is administratively responsible for departmental employees and land, manages subsidized housing, public transportation, and school subsidies, and contributes to public facilities. The Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur région is governed by a directly elected regional council and a president.
Different levels of administration have different duties, and shared responsibility is common. For instance, in the field of education, communes run public elementary schools, while départements run public junior high schools and régions run public high schools, but only for the building and upkeep of buildings; curricula and teaching personnel are supplied by the national Ministry of Education.
Economy
Cannes is a resort, tourism is the city’s main source of revenue, and foreign visitors make up 40 percent of the traffic. There are several casinos. The well-known Cannes Film Festival, which takes place there every year in May, is one of a number of large annual events. A television festival takes place in the last week of every September. Midem is a large market for disc and music. Mipim, that takes place each March, is a market for commercial buildings, apartments, and villas for rent, .
The area around Cannes has developed into a high-tech cluster. The technopolis of Sophia Antipolis lies in the hills beyond Cannes. The Film Festival is a major event for the industry.
The Cannes Mandelieu Space Center is an industrial plant dedicated to spacecraft manufacturing, located in both Cannes and Mandelieu. After a long history in aircraft manufacturer, starting in 1929, the center became more and more involved in the Aerospace activities after the Second World War, and satellites are now the plant's main produce.
Cannes has 6500 companies, of which 3000 are traders, artisans and service providers. In 2006, 421 new companies were registered.
There is an international market for flowers, especially mimosa, which has flourished in the region since its introduction from Santo Domingo in 1835.
From Paris, the journey by road takes eight hours via the A8 motorway. TGV rail services provide access from major French cities, as well as Brussels, Milan, Basel, Rome, and Venice. Yachts and transatlantic liners visit Cannes harbour. Ferries are available from Bastia and Calvi in Corsica. Cannes - Mandelieu Airport is located three miles (5km) west of Cannes and east of Mandelieu-la-Napoule. Located 15 miles from Cannes, Nice Côte d’Azur Airport has close to 10 million passengers a year.
Cannes film festival
The Cannes Film Festival (French: le Festival de Cannes), founded in 1946, is one of the world's oldest, most influential and prestigious film festivals alongside Venice and Berlin. The private festival is held annually (usually in the month of May) at the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès, in the resort town of Cannes, in the south of France.
At the end of the 1930s, shocked by the interference of the fascist governments of Germany and Italy in the selection of films for the Mostra de Venise, Jean Zay, the French Minister of National Education, decided to create an international cinematographic festival in France, on the proposal of Philippe Erlanger and the support of the British and Americans. Cannes was selected as the location, and Le Festival International de Cannes was born.
The Cannes Film Festival is organised in various sections. In the main event, known as The Official Selection, in the main competition, 20 films compete for the Palme d'Or; in the Un Certain Regard section, 20 films selected from cultures near and far; original and different works, compete; in the Out of Competition section, films are shown but do not compete for the main prize; the Special Screenings section shows special interest films; the Cinéfondation section includes about 15 short and medium-length motion pictures from film schools; and there is a Short Film Palme d'Or.
The Parallel Sections are non-competitive programmes which includes Cannes Classics; world cinema; the Caméra d'Or that rewards the best first film of the Festival; and the Cinéma de la Plage, which screens Cannes Classics and Out of Competition films for the mass public on Macé beach.
Of interest
Nineteenth-century Cannes can still be seen in its grand villas, built to reflect the wealth and standing of their owners and inspired by anything from medieval castles to Roman villas. Lord Brougham’s Italianate Villa Eléonore Louise (one of the first in Cannes) was built between 1835 and 1839. Also known as the Quartier des Anglais, this is the oldest residential area in Cannes. Another landmark is the Villa Fiésole (known today as the Villa Domergue) designed by Jean-Gabriel Domergue in the style of Fiesole, near Florence.
The cell of the Man in the Iron Mask can be visited in the Fort of St Marguerite, now renamed the Musée de la Mer (Museum of the Sea). This museum houses discoveries from shipwrecks off the island, including Roman (first century B.C.E.) and Muslim (10th century C.E.) ceramics.
Cistercian monks are the only inhabitants of the smaller, southern St Honorat Island. Medieval vestiges remain in the stark church, which is open to the public, and in the ruins of the 11th-century monastery on the sea’s edge. The monks divide their time between prayer and producing red and white wines.
The Musée d'Art et d'Histoire de Provence houses artefacts from prehistoric to present, in an 18th century mansion. The Musée de la Castre has objects from the Pacific Atolls, Peruvian relics and Mayan pottery. Other venues include the Musée de la Marine, Musée de la Photographie and Musée International de la Parfumerie.
Cannes is not renowned for traditional theatre. However, small venues stage productions and host short sketches during the annual International Actors’ Performance Festival. Popular theatres include the Espace Miramar and the Alexandre III.
Other events of interest include:
- The Carnival on the Riviera, which is an annual parade through the streets to mark the 21-day period prior to Shrove Tuesday.
- The International Festival of Games, which is a festival of bridge, belote, backgammon, chess, draughts, tarot and more, and takes place each February.
- The Festival de la Plaisance, which is an event for boating enthusiasts in the Vieux Port(September).
Looking to the future
Settled by Celts, Greeks, and Romans, Cannes and the Lérins islands have had a long involvement with monastic Christianity, although most of the city’s growth has occurred over the past 170 years.
The Cannes Film Festival was established to oppose the interference of the Fascist governments of Germany and Italy in film selection. As cinema continues to exert a strong influence on world culture, the festival can play an important role in either to the improvement or degradation of world culture.
With perhaps the world’s top film festival, a growing aerospace industry, and a steady influx of wealthy tourists, Cannes can expect to remain a wealthy town, and an important contributor to a powerful and wealthy nation, and to the world.
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
- Servat, Henry-Jean. 2004. In the spirit of Cannes: from A to Z. New York: Assouline. ISBN 9782843236105
- Encyclopaedia Britannica Cannes Retrieved August 14, 2008.
External links
- Cannes Film Festival official website (French) (English) Retrieved August 14, 2008.
- The Festival Cannes Festival website
- Cannes at the Open Directory Project (English)
- Photos fine art of Cannes
- The City Hall official website (French)
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