Dr Nathalie Hilmi, environmental economist from the Scientific Centre of Monaco and contributing author to the first MedECC environmental assessment report, has co-won the 2020 North-South Prize of the Council of Europe.
The 2020 North-South Prize of the Council of Europe has been awarded to Mediterranean Experts on Climate and Environmental Change (MedECC) coordinators, science officer and authors, including Dr. Nathalie Hilmi from the Scientific Centre of Monaco (CSM) for their work on a study released this year.
The North-South Prize has been awarded each year since 1995 to two candidates who have stood out for their exceptional commitment to promoting North-South solidarity. MedECC shares the prize this year with the International Commission against the Death Penalty.
MedECC, founded in 2015, is an independent network of professional experts who study climate and environmental change in the Med. Their first Mediterranean Assessment Report, entitled ‘Climate and Environmental Change in the Mediterranean Basin – Current Situation and Risks for the Future’, assessed the risks currently affecting the Mediterranean basin in order to give policymakers, stakeholders and the population-at-large a clear picture of the situation.
The report was a truly collaborative labour of love, incorporating the research of nearly 190 scientists from 25 countries, who contributed without any financial compensation.
Dr Hilmi is an expert in macroeconomics and international finance who, after a long career in both academia and the private sector, focuses on economic policies and sustainable development at CSM.
Charlotte Casiraghi has been named Chanel’s Ambassador in a move that formalises her relationship with a brand she has had links to since she was a teen.
It is no great surprise that the granddaughter of Princess Grace has impeccable style and poise, nor is it a surprise that Chanel, a house she has had a long history with, has recognised those traits and asked that she become their newest brand ambassador for 2021.
Charlotte Casiraghi has been a Chanel fan since she was a teenager, trailing along to Chanel shows with her glamorous mother Princess Caroline, who was a muse and great friend of the iconic fashion house’s late creative director Karl Lagerfeld, sitting front and centre for the brand’s latest collections.
Now, she will be the focus of Chanel’s spring-summer 2021 ready-to-wear line from Virginie Viard. The photo shoots took place in Monaco at La Vigie, the house owned by Lagerfeld before his death and a place she has practically grown up in. Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin were behind the camera.
“It’s almost as if I was born with Chanel,” says Charlotte Casiraghi in the video that announced her appointment as ambassador and spokeswoman. “I think of photos of my mum, when she was pregnant with me, wonderful photos by Karl with her wearing Chanel.”
Her love of the brand extended to her 2019 wedding to Dimitri Rassam, where she wore a stunning strapless gown, much like the one worn by Grace Kelly in the classic French Riviera-based thriller, To Catch A Thief.
In addition to putting her obvious good looks to use, she will also be able to showcase her passion for literature and poetry by hosting a series of ‘literary salons’ called Literary rendezvous at rue Cambon, featuring public figures such as actors and writers being filmed talking about their favourite literary or historical figures or their own works.
The first of these meet ups will take place on 26th January and will be broadcast on social media.
Photo: Charlotte Casiraghi’s 2019 wedding, by FÉLIX DOL-JERSEY/PRINCE’S PALACE OF MONACO
The Municipal Council has been busy handing out all of the donations collected in the Principality for the victims of October’s storm Alex, as well as its own significant contributions.
Following the devastation caused by storm Alex in October, Monaco’s Municipal Council wanted to join in the great outpouring of solidarity for the municipalities and residents of the Roya valley by providing support – logistically with the donation of vehicles and equipment, as well as financial. They also organised collections in the Principality. Foodstuffs and financial donations
From the first hours after storm Alex, the council provided financial support by making two donations to help rebuild the infrastructure in the valleys: one to the Department of the Alpes-Maritimes (20,000€), the other in the municipality of Limone Piemonte (2,500€).
A few days later, elected officials mobilised municipal teams and a food and hygiene product collection was set up on 8th and 9th October at Espace Léo Ferré. More than two tons of goods were collected and transported to the valleys by the Light Relief Intervention Unit (ULIS). This solidarity continued with a large donation of equipment, stored until now in the workshops of the Municipal Technical Services, which will soon be assigned to different municipalities: 300 tables, 390 folding chairs as well as a desk given to the Mayor of Fontan.
Vehicle donations for the municipalities of Roya
On 11th December, Mayor Georges Marsan, Marjorie Crovetto, Karyn Ardisson Salopek and Claude Bollati went to Breil-sur-Roya to meet the mayors of the various municipalities hit hard by storm Alex. They handed over six vehicles previously belonging to the municipal fleet: a Mercedes flatbed truck with hatchback, a Toyota Yaris and four Kymco 125cc scooters. A Christmas for the children
On Tuesday 15th December, Mayor Georges Marsan and Marjorie Crovetto went to Menton to hand over 1,260 children’s books collected from 24th to 26th November at the Condamine Market as well as at Stars’n’Bars as part of the European Waste Reduction Week (SERD) in collaboration with the Monaco Développement association Durable (MC2D).
These books were given to children aged 0 to 14 in the towns of Tende, La Brigue, Breil-sur-Roya, Fontan and Saorge on 19th and 20th December as part of the operation ‘Christmas for the children of Roya’.
The initiative has received the support of Prince Albert II and Minister of State Pierre Dartout. Christmas baskets for seniors
A few days later, on 17th December, the council brought a little comfort and warmth to end of year celebrations with the delivery of 400 Christmas baskets containing a complete meal seniors and isolated people from different towns in the Roya valley. The car
A Renault Trafic – offered by the Monaco City Hall on 5th November to the Semeurs d’Espoir association, was used to collect donations made by the citizens of Monaco and transport them to the valleys of the Vésubie (Saint-Martin Vésubie) and Roya (Breil-sur-Roya).
Frankie’s Christmas is usually a much-anticipated event for the two thousand sick or underprivileged children normally invited, and though the charity was forced to cancel most of its December events, they still managed to deliver some Christmas cheer.
This year, nothing is “normal”. But despite that, the Monegasque association Les Enfants de Frankie still distributed nearly a thousand gifts to children in need of a bright spot during the holidays.
On 16th December, the volunteers of the association took to the streets delivering gifts to the homes and institutions of needy kids between Menton and Cannes. Though not the usual party they have given in the past, the effort brightened the day of children who may have few other reasons to smile.
As an additional bonus for young people being treated at the Frejus Hospital, Les Enfants de Frankie is paying for a new minibus with a price tag of roughly €26,000. The young people being cared for in this hospital’s Arobase Care unit suffer from illnesses such as anorexia, suicidal thoughts, self-harm, bulimia, addictions and anxiety.
Those treating these youngsters have seen a rise in admittance and have found that group projects with outdoor experiences have been quite beneficial in the process of resocialisation, but until now, they have been without reliable transport, severely limiting what they can do to help the children.
Delivery of the new bus is scheduled for February 2021 and will be emblazoned with Frankie’s signature clown, allowing more frequent outings. The hope is that more positive mental health will emerge from the chance to spend time in nature.
Founded in 1997, Les Enfants de Frankie has been helping sick, disabled or underprivileged kids in Monaco and the surrounding region. Since inception, over 122,000 children have been touched by their help.
Under normal circumstances, the Monaco-based association organises fun days, workshops holiday camps and sporting events, as well as distributing food, clothes, toys school supplies and computer equipment to disadvantaged families.
From establishing the Principality’s first international gallery and its transition in to contemporary art, to Monaco’s “golden era” of the 70s and 80s, Adriano Ribolzi – one of Monaco’s most beloved and respected individuals – shares his story with Monaco Life.
This wasn’t the 100th anniversary celebration that Adriano Ribolzi had in mind when planning began in early 2020. One of Adriano’s favourite artists, Pablo Atchugarry, had been commissioned for the special occasion and a grand opening of the exhibition was set for 4th December, the day his father – Annibale Ribolzi – opened Maison Ribolzi in Lugano in southern Switzerland a century earlier. In 1974, Adriano brought the legacy to Monaco.
But Covid took the world down a very different path than anyone could have ever imagined.
“To plan an exhibition with an important artist like Pablo Atchugarry takes a long time,” says Adriano. “But by the time it came to creating the programme, it was clear that we would not be allowed to do a grand opening like we would do normally, with hundreds of people.”
It was a difficult moment of realisation for Adriano, who has never done things by halves. For the gallery’s 40th year in Monaco, he had the surrounding streets of Monte-Carlo closed so he could host a big bash. “I like to make large celebrations,” he says unashamedly. The Ribolzi Gallery celebrates a 100 year legacy. Photo by Cassandra Tanti for Monaco Life
But he was determined not to let a worldwide pandemic stop this exhibition.
“I said we will do the exhibition and I will make the catalogue. I know I can’t have a big opening, but we are lucky that the Prince is just putting in a curfew, not another lockdown. I decided that it will be a month-long opening, and we will welcome you every day in December. So, here we are.”
Visitors to the gallery are just as pleased with the compromise as Adriano himself, who acknowledges that it is important for cultural institutions such as his to remain open during difficult times.
“It is also very important to keep the art market open in Monaco, because we are fortunate enough to be in a position to do it. So, let’s push ahead,” he says, full of enthusiasm.
It is that drive and passion that has defined 88-year-old Adriano Ribolzi throughout his entire life, and put him squarely where is today – as one of the most respected gallerists and art collectors in Europe. Adriano Ribolzi walking through his gallery in Monte Carlo, by Cassandra Tanti for Monaco Life
His story began with his father Annibale Ribolzi, who studied 18th Century French furniture design in Lyon and opened his firm in Lugano in 1920. Located within close proximity to Milan, Annibale’s post-war business boomed, and Adriano was sent to study art in Zurich.
“Amusingly, it was a school of modern art,” remembers Adriano fondly. “But I didn’t renounce the masters. In fact, I exhibited the masters for 10 years. My history was 18th Century French furniture, but I was passionate about the modern movement.”
This composition is still played out in Adriano’s gallery today. Situated parallel to the exquisite Hôtel Hermitage, the gallery is designed in classic Louis XVI period, with decorative motifs, straight lines and gilded features. Set against this backdrop are abstract paintings by Schifano, Fermariello, Olivieri and Atchugarry’s latest sculptures. The Ribolzi Gallery by Cassandra Tanti for Monaco Life
What some would see as sharp contrasts, Adriano embraces as the ultimate expression of art.
“I always say that the quality of the art is what is most important, not the period,” he says. “They can be of a different period, but if the quality is not there, then it doesn’t work.”
When Adriano opened his gallery in Monaco in 1974, he initially took up residence on the aptly named Avenue des Beaux-Arts, Monte-Carlo. It was the first real foreign art gallery in the Principality, and Sotheby’s hosted an art auction just one year later. “With that, Monaco became the art market centre of the world, the most important in sales. Then Christie’s came to hold an auction in the Sporting d’Hiver. It was all very clever.”
That same year, at the request of the director of tourism, Adriano was charged with helping to create Monaco’s first Biennale des Antiquaires de Monaco, putting the Principality firmly on the art collectors’ map.
“Surely, this makes you the godfather of art in Monaco?” I ask, only half-jokingly. He laughs and responds, “but I did of course start a lot of things in Monaco.” Adriano Ribolzi in his gallery, by Cassandra Tanti for Monaco Life
Adriano has clearly been a solid force in Monaco’s cultural scene from the very beginning. But it is the 1970s and 80s that he remembers most fondly: the Principality’s “golden era” when fine things were celebrated unashamedly.
“The lifestyle of Monaco then was at such a high level,” remembers Adriano. “If you want to know what Monaco was like in the 70s and 80s, look at photos of the dinners in the Hôtel de Paris. It was not about the money – of course there was a lot of it – it was about the elegance. It was an unbelievable time. Monaco really was the centre of the world.”
In 1998, Adriano brought the gallery on Avenue de l’Hermitage, two striking gallery spaces in fact, where he still spends a lot of his time. Today, his excitement for Atchugarry’s sculptures is as palpable, I imagine, as it was for any Warhol or Picasso painting that has come before.
But it is not the expensive artworks, the parties at the Hôtel de Paris, or the gallery itself that Adriano Ribolzi cherishes most about his career as an art dealer.
“What I have loved most is the people I have met through my work, what I have learned from them, and their attitudes. I have always asked questions and wanted to know more. It is immense and incomparable.
“As an art dealer, I have a special bond with these people. They open their homes to me, and everyone is different. I am lucky to have been fortunate enough to be in that position; to be able to exchange ideas about art, politics, business… there is such a richness to people, and I am not referring to money.”
The Ribolzi Gallery will be exhibiting Pablo Atchugarry’s sculptures for the month of December and into the new year.
Parents can reassure their kids that Santa Claus is vaccinated and coming to town, according to America’s leading infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci.
“Santa Claus is good to go!” said the director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases during an appearance on CNN’s Sesame Street ABC’s of Covid-19 Town Hall on the weekend.
The program featured worried questions from some Muppets, including Elmo, and children asking how Santa would be able to deliver presents during the pandemic.
“What if he can’t go to anyone’s house or near his reindeer?” asked one.
“How did Santa get the vaccine and is it safe him to go into the house?” asked another.
With a big smile, Dr. Fauci gave an answer designed to please.
“I have to say I took care of that for you, because I was worried that you’d all be upset,” he said. “So what I did a little while ago, I took a trip up there to the North Pole. I went there, and I vaccinated Santa Claus myself.”
Given Mr. Claus’ older age and excess weight from eating millions of cookies every year, it makes sense that kids might worry he’s at high risk.
But Santa’s holiday magic can overcome anything, even the coronavirus.
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