Coats of arms and heraldry. What can the coat of arms of a state tell us, say, such as … Monaco?
What story will he tell us about his past, and maybe about the present? If (apart from history) you want to look into the present day.
Coat of arms. First, let's see how it is described (blazoned) according to heraldic rules.
“The shield of the coat of arms is divided into a diamond shape into silver and a scarlet by 15 diamonds. It is framed by the chain of the Order of St. Charles in green oak leaves.
The shield holders - and this is perhaps the most interesting thing in this coat of arms - are monks in brown robes, and with drawn swords in their hands.
Scarlet gown with gold ribbon trim and ermine lining.
The coat of arms is crowned with a princely crown.
The motto at the bottom of the ribbon: "Deo Juvante", which in Latin means "With God's help."
Even the ancient Phoenicians, and then the Greeks, sailed here and built their temples on a rock protruding into the sea, which they called Monek (the local form of the name Hercules).
In the Middle Ages, this place, convenient in all respects, in 1162 passed into the hands of the Ghibellines - an Italian party that opposed another party - the Guelphs. Moreover, the Ghibellines stood for the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, but the Guelphs stood for the papal throne.
The Guelphs liked the place, and they erected there an almost impregnable fortress with high walls around the entire perimeter of steep cliffs and four towers, between which there was a gate.
Such a fortress would be a good reward for everyone who could take it, but for a long time there were no daredevils for this desperate business.
He was called "Malisia" (Sly)
Francois the Spiteful of the Grimaldi family decided on it.
The rich and powerful family of Grimaldi from time immemorial supported the Guelphs, but after the victory of the Ghibellines, they were forced to seek a new refuge for themselves.
And now one of the representatives of this family, named François the Spiteful, decided to take revenge on the Ghibellines and seize the impregnable fortress they had built near Genoa.
On a cold winter night on January 8, 1297, he and his squire dressed in the brown robes of itinerant Franciscan friars, and knocking on its gate, timidly asked for the night.
Not suspecting anything bad, the guards let the monks in. But before they had time to close the gate, François the Spiteful drew the sword hidden under his cassock and began to chop down their guards.
The second "monk" got down to business, and then his soldiers came to their aid. And the usual medieval massacre began.
The local residents were taken by surprise by the nighttime events. And in less than a few hours, the fortress on the rock was completely in the hands of the Grimaldi, who in 1997 celebrated exactly 700 years of their reign in Monaco.
On an area of just over two square kilometers
Today Monaco is the smallest state in the world (area 2, 02 km) after the Vatican and the island of Malta. But probably almost everyone has heard about it, since it is there that the famous car races of the Monaco Grand Prix take place and the world famous Monte Carlo casino is located.
However, there are so many interesting things in the life of this tiny state that, in addition to the history of the coat of arms, it is worth telling about it in more detail.
The territory of the state of Monaco is a strip of land that stretches along the sea from west to east for three kilometers and 700 meters from north to south. And this is by no means fertile land. Solid steep embankments are man-made - stones and soil are poured near the coast, pushing it into the sea. Over the past 150 years, the area of the state has been increased by 22 hectares.
State up, state down
As soon as you get to Monaco, from the very first steps you are amazed by the multi-storey buildings, which are directly adhered to the high cliffs and seem to climb them to ever greater heights. You are involuntarily amazed at the stubbornness and talent of the people living here, who managed to turn an unsightly piece of land, if not into an earthly paradise, then, in any case, into some kind of its likeness.
The streets here are surprisingly wide enough, but winding, as they run along the sea and ascend in a serpentine way over the rocks higher and higher. They are connected not only by stairs, although they are also here, but by elevators and escalators, so you can go up and down to the sea in just a matter of minutes.
Here, even the railway station and the railway leading to it are hidden inside the cliff, which saved the principality at once four acres of valuable usable area.
And although with such tightness, it seems that neither a tree nor a bush should grow here, in Monaco, in spite of everything, there is a lot of greenery. There is a terraced park named after St. Martin. A wonderful Exotic Garden, where only one cactus grows about seven thousand different species. Some of them are simply huge, reaching six meters in height, and weighing under one hundred kilograms.
Just behind the Monte Carlo casino are the Japanese Park, then the Fontvieille landscape park and its most delightful corner - the Princess Grace Rosary, arranged by order of Prince Rainier III in 1984 in memory of her wife Grace Kelly, who tragically died in a car accident.
They live here among greenery and banks for a long time
Interestingly, the area of the rose garden has increased from 3300 to 5000 square meters in recent years.
And in general, in Monaco, a fifth of the territory of the principality is allotted to green spaces, and this is at the insane cost of each piece of land. Monaco also has its own zoo, and even its own Larvotto beach.
Women go topless here, but they don’t forget to wear jewelry. It is a gorgeous sandy beach surrounded by bars and restaurants. In a word, the citizens of Monaco, although they live on a rock, do not experience any inconvenience from this, as evidenced by their average life expectancy. In 2016, she was 89.5 years old.
In the principality, making any purchases is not a problem at all, since there are 1,200 retail stores and 400 wholesale stores.
But there are also industrial enterprises there. Yes, don't be surprised, there are more than 100 of them and the most modern ones.
But the main thing that Monaco can boast of is the branches of the 800 largest companies that have gathered here from all over the world. And also here are the offices of 59 of the world's largest banks and 40 companies that make money by managing securities, and their total income exceeds 75.5 billion euros.
In what ways were you lucky, and in some ways not?
Local residents who have the status of citizens of Monaco (Monegasques) are fortunate in that they are completely exempt from taxes.
Yes, the principality itself is a tax-free offshore zone that is attractive for business in all respects. Moreover, although there are great difficulties with the terrain, public buses still run around the city, there are 143 stops, so, even without having your own car, it is not difficult to move along it.
By the way, 15 red rhombuses on the coat of arms of Monaco are 15 clans that originally lived here, and today the most honorable families.
On the other hand, if you are a wealthy foreigner and want to open your own business here, then you will need to post a deposit of 15 thousand euros, or even higher. Moreover, the Monegasque authorities will carefully look at the identity of the applicant himself and how this business will be useful for the principality.
Well, getting Monaco citizenship for a foreigner, in general, is extremely difficult, since it is very profitable. Just look: the population of Monaco is 38,000 people, and there are only 7,600 citizens in it. And besides, having received the citizenship of Monaco, you will need to refuse any other.
However, there are examples of discrimination against citizens of Monaco in the principality.
Only foreigners can play in the casino (they are allowed there only upon presentation of a passport!), But Monegasques, up to representatives of the princely family, are prohibited from entering according to local law. At least it's so formal. You can work as a local in a casino. You can't play.
And there are many gambling halls: the Renaissance Salon, the European Salon, the White Hall, the American Games Hall, the Salon of Graces and many others, which frame the closed halls for the privileged public located in its very depths - the two Tuzet Halls and the huge François-Medsen salon. And since the Grand Casino is attached to the opera house (or the theater is attached to the casino), players can always visit it. Convenient, isn't it? Played - listened to the opera, listened to the opera - went to play.
However, today in Monaco there are several simpler casinos. These are Cafe de Paris, San Casino, Summer Casino and Casino by the Bay. The latter is the most modern and most democratic. You can place bets here starting from just one euro cent, and the entrance is completely free.
Typical Big Brother Country
What I personally really like about Monaco is that there are absolutely no beggars and Negro street vendors who strive to pester tourists, as, say, they do in Paris near the Eiffel Tower. There are no homeless people studying trash cans, and there is no crime either. In the principality, even at one o'clock in the morning, you can safely walk along all the stairs, escalators and at the same time not meet a single antisocial person. In addition, there are many police officers - one for every 100 residents.
Why is that? Because there are video cameras around here.
Once, historian and cinematographer Pierre Abramovich was riding in an elevator with his cameraman and asked him to remove a video camera in the elevator car - and immediately a voice came from a hidden speaker that told them:
"We not only see you, but also hear you!"
Well, and discussing the affairs of the princely house of Grimaldi over the phone is absolutely out of the ordinary. A foreigner after this citizenship of Monaco cannot see his ears.
But it was here, and even in 1911, that the famous car races Rally of Monte Carlo began to be held, and since 1929 - the Grand Prix of Monaco, and an intricate track runs right through the streets of the principality.
Should a prince have a princely life?
Monaco is ruled today by Prince Albert II.
And he lives, of course, "purely princely." In the Old Town, he has a palace of 225 rooms. True, its southern wing houses the Museum of Historical Collections from the Palace Archives.
And the princes of Grimaldi own a land plot in the Ardennes, which is exactly six times larger in area than their Mediterranean principality. The favorite country residence of the prince and his family is on the Mont-Azhel mountain. And although this is next to Monaco, this is already the territory of France.
Albert's father, Prince Rainier III, loved to work on the land and worked here tirelessly.
“I have planted here,” he wrote, “about 400 trees. Paved paths everywhere. I drove the bulldozer myself. You know, it's so nice to do something with your own hands.
I have a workshop here where I can do welding and generally tinker with iron. This distracts me from reading official papers.
This is why I no longer read as much as I used to. After three or four hours of working with documents, I really want to be distracted and do physical labor!"
The son, by the way, inherited his father's diligence.
He is also an athlete - a five-time participant in the Winter Olympic Games as part of a bobsled team, was at the North Pole and enjoys great prestige among environmentalists.
Interestingly, Monaco even has an army of 82 people and a military band of 85 musicians.
For comparison: the Vatican army consists of 110 people, and the Liechtenstein police of 120.
