MONACO

Monaco (/ˈmɒnəkoʊ/ (About this soundlisten); French pronunciation: [mɔnako]), officially the Principality of Monaco (French: Principauté de Monaco), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera close to the Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe. It is bordered by France to the north, east and west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the south. The principality is home to 38,682 residents,[11] of whom 9,486 are Monégasque nationals;[12] it is widely recognised for being one of the most expensive and wealthiest places in the world. The official language is French, although Monégasque (a dialect of Ligurian), Italian and English are spoken and understood by a sizeable group.[a]

onaco's name comes from the nearby 6th-century BCE Phocaean Greek colony. Referred to by the Ligurians as Monoikos, from the Greek "μόνοικος", "single house", from "μόνος" (monos) "alone, single"[20] + "οἶκος" (oikos) "house".[21] According to an ancient myth, Hercules passed through the Monaco area and turned away the previous gods.[22] As a result, a temple was constructed there, the temple of Hercules Monoikos. Because the only temple of this area was the "House" of Hercules, the city was called Monoikos.[23][24] It ended up in the hands of the Holy Roman Empire, which gave it to the Genoese.

An ousted branch of a Genoese family, the Grimaldi, contested it for a hundred years before actually gaining control. Though the Republic of Genoa would last until the 19th century, they allowed the Grimaldi family to keep Monaco, and, likewise, both France and Spain left it alone for hundreds of years. France did not annex it until the French Revolution, but after the defeat of Napoleon it was put under the care of the Kingdom of Sardinia.

In the 19th century, when Sardinia became a part of Italy, the region came under French influence again but France allowed it to remain independent. Like France, Monaco was overrun by the Axis powers during the Second World War and for a short time was administered by Italy, then the Third Reich, before finally being liberated. Although the occupation lasted for just a short time, it resulted in the deportation of the Jewish population and execution of several resistance members from Monaco. Since then Monaco has been independent. It has taken some steps towards integration with the European Union.


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