Monument to Empress Elisabeth of Austria

"...You loved to come in the evening and breathe in the scent of the mastic and sit among the rocks near here..." These few words engraved at the base of this monument evoke Empress Sissi. For me, they are a marvellous time machine. Suddenly, my nostrils are alert and my mind can make out in the foliage the graceful silhouette of an empress who was both elegant and a little wild. This presence alone sums up the history of Cap Martin. A vast, wild peninsula used as a hunting reserve by the Princes of Monaco. In the 19th century, a few years before Roquebrune became part of France, Monaco, Menton and Roquebrune fought over Cap Martin... A grazing right was granted, then several buyers followed one another and went into debt, before Calvin White, a wealthy British subject, took an interest in 1889 and was responsible for the spectacular development of the estate. The construction of the grand Hôtel du Cap in 1890 was the first milestone. This was followed by the laying of roads and the construction of several luxurious villas, most of them designed by Danish architect Hans Georg Tersling. By this time, the area had become sought-after, attracting the world's aristocracy. From 1894 to 1898, Empress Elisabeth of Austria spent winters in her apartments at the Grand Hôtel du Cap. A tireless hiker, she spent her time on the trails, meeting farmers and shepherds from whom she bought farm produce. On the way down to the sea, the other the other facade of the grand hotel is revealed, and with it, other stories...