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Day: 8 March 2021

New openings in Monaco

by: Cassandra Tanti
08/03/2021

Three family favourites have reopened in the Principality: the mini-golf at the Princesse Antoinette Park, the José Notari Video-Sound Library and the Botanical Centre at the Jardin Exotique.
After months of closure, the Botanical Centre at the Exotic Garden has reopend to the public with free access. Inaugurated in 2017, the centre comprises 900 m² of greenhouses and 1,000 m² of shelters spread over three levels. Featuring 10,500 plants, the greenhouses are an opportunity to discover some of the rarest and most endangered succulents on the planet and to learn more about their conservation.
Free guided tours with a specialist gardener are offered on Saturdays by appointment.
Meanwhile, Monday 8th March also saw the opening of the José Notari Video-Sound Library in their new premises on 2 rue Princesse Antoinette. The library will be positioned near the Louis Notari Library and the Princess Caroline Ludothèque Library until 2024, when all the entities of the Monaco Media Library will be brought together within the new Ilot Pasteur development.

The José Notari Video-Sound Library, previously located at Villa Lamartine, features a wide range of music and film collections, including 18,500 CDs and 10,500 DVDs, as well as a relaxation area and a multimedia room equipped with computer stations.
And after several months of closure, the mini-golf at Parc Princesse Antoinette has been welcoming the public again since 24th February on Wednesdays and Saturdays from 2 p.m. to 5.30 p.m. by reservation only.

Photo: Parc Princesse Antoinette by the Mairie de Monaco

The course, which includes 18 clay obstacles that are linked to a walk under the olive trees, gives people an opportunity to enjoy outdoor time with friends and family. The wearing of masks and social distancing are mandatory at the park.
The Princess Antoinette Park is the “green lung” in the heart of the Principality and serves as an entertainment area for children of all ages. In addition to the miniature golf course, it also hosts a mini-farm with chickens, ducks, goats and rabbits as well as a vegetable and herb garden.
 
Top photo of the Botanical Centre by the Mairie de Monaco 
 
 

France ramps up vaccine rollout

by: Cassandra Tanti
08/03/2021

The French Riviera city of Nice has achieved a successful vaccination blitz with over 13,000 elderly residents inoculated in 48 hours, contributing to over half a million shots administered throughout the country. Meanwhile, the city’s mayor says another weekend lockdown is unlikely in light of favourable figures.
After constant criticism of the slow speed of its vaccination rollout, the government initiated a mass vaccination programme on Friday for three days as it faces off against a continued spread of the virus and its variants.
It comes as welcome news to Monaco, where the neighbouring Alpes-Maritimes department has the highest incident rate in the country.
Health Minister Olivier Veran revealed that around 585,000 people were given their first Covid injection on the weekend, as Prime Minister Jean Castex said in a tweet: “A new step in our battle against the virus has been taken this weekend.”
Two doses are necessary for the vaccine types authorised in France to be fully effective.
The figure is an increase on previous weeks, in which 100,000 to 200,000 doses were delivered each day, and the health minister says he expects vaccinations to intensify in the coming months to reach “five to six times this quantity in April”.
Thousands of makeshift vaccination centres, or large exhibition spaces, were mobilised for the blitz in France. By 15th March, general practitioners, nurses and pharmacists will also be able to administer the vaccines.
At the Palais des Expositions in Nice, 13,048 vaccinations were delivered on Saturday and Sunday. It brings the total number of people to receive their first jab to nearly 50,000 in the Metropolis, equivalent to around half of those who have registered for the shot, according to Mayor of Nice and president of the Nice Côte d’Azur Metropolis Christian Estrosi.
At this rate, and with regular supplies guaranteed by France’s Regional Health Agency, Mayor Estrosi expects that everyone over the age of 75, who wants to, will be vaccinated by the end of March.
Those over 50 with serious underlying health issues and people aged over 65 are expected to follow, with a “very high level of immunity achieved by the end of April”, he told Nice Matin.
After two consecutive weekend lockdowns, the mayor said that he doesn’t “envision” a third weekend lockdown for the region, saying, “The indicators I have today show that we are already on a steady decline in the incidence rate which should not justify a third weekend of confinement. I hope that the people of Nice can enjoy the next weekend with more freedom.”
The French Riviera lockdown forced Monegasque authorities to step up controls on its borders, with 2,811 vehicles stopped by police on the weekend and 270 refused entry into Monaco.
 
Photo by Roxana Crusemire on Unsplash
 
 

Monaco to host Karl Lagerfeld auction

by: Stephanie Horsman
08/03/2021
karl lagerfeld monaco

Karl Lagerfeld’s art and design collections are set to go under the hammer in the Principality of Monaco this autumn, two years after the legendary Chanel designer’s death.
Karl Lagerfeld, who died in February 2019 at the age of 85, was an avid, some say voracious, collector of art and design pieces. Now it has been announced that these pieces are going under the gavel at an auction to be held later this year in Monaco, a nod to the designer’s long-standing connection to both the Principality and to the sovereign family.
Sotheby’s was selected as the executors of Lagerfeld’s estate to auction his personal effects, and the house is keeping schtum about details of what this will include except to say there will be furniture, design and fine art up for grabs. The auction house estimates it will take two months to value the items from his eight homes in Monaco and France, and then it will set a date for the sales.
“The auction will pay tribute to this unique and exceptionally creative designer, a major figure in the worlds of fashion and art,” says Pierre Mothes, Vice-President of Sotheby’s France.
This isn’t the first time Lagerfeld has cleared house. Back in 2000, after stating he had tired of the Ancien Régime style he had previously fancied, he sold much of his art, furniture, tapestries and porcelain collection through Christie’s. A similar sale of Art Deco pieces went on sale in 2003 and raised nearly €7 million. No estimate has yet been made on what this auction is likely to raise.
“We are just starting with the inventory. In sales of collections of such major global personalities, the value of the objects is closely linked to their provenance,” Mothes told Reuters.
Sotheby’s has stated that it expects the auction to take place sometime in autumn this year.
 
 
Photo: Hermann Bühlbecker, Prince Albert, Princess Charlene and Karl Lagerfeld at the Cinema Against AIDS gala in 2011, by Nadja Amireh – Flickr
 
 

Primo Cup results and Casiraghi world record

by: Stephanie Horsman
08/03/2021

A new record was set on the weekend when the Multi 70 Maserati skippered by Giovanni Soldini with five crew including Pierre Casiraghi made the trip from Monaco to Saint Tropez in two hours, 25 minutes and 44 seconds.
The Multi 70 Maserati sailing boat with Giovanni Soldini and five crew on board beat the old record by Norwegian Knut Frostad in 1999 who made the trip in three hours, four minutes and 30 seconds.
The record is part of a series of tests and trials in the Mediterranean since the Maserati left the yard on Friday 5th March from La Spezia. “After four months of work, we made so many improvements and innovations and are now beginning a series of tests and adjustments,” said a delighted Soldini.
Meanwhile, the 7th Primo Cup-Trophée Credit Suisse took place in the Principality on the weekend. This year’s race was modified due to the health crisis and included only Yacht Club of Monaco members, but the excitement was no less than usual.
Over three days, J/70 and Smeralda class boats fought hard to hit the top spots. The J/70 races attracted 20 boats and the winner of the class at the end was G-Spot captained by Giangiacome Serena di Lapigio who beat out Ludovico Fassitelli’s Junda-Sumus-Capital team by two points. The Sailing Racing Team and Loic Pompée made a strong third place showing.
“This year is very different, but it was important for us to maintain the link with members and keep some of our activities going, particularly as we prepare to host the J/70 World Championship next year,” said Yacht Club of Monaco General Secretary Bernard d’Alessandri. “I also think it’s important for our young people to have an activity and maintain social ties. That is really essential for a club.”
In the Smeralda class, nine boats competed, and class President Charles de Bourbon des Deux-Sicilies won on the Vamos mi Amor by a nose against the Beda, helmed by Timofey Sukhotin. Francesco Vauban on the Botta Dritta rounded out the podium.
The races ended the Monaco Sportsboat Winter Series Season, and the final rankings were given although they excluded the wins over the weekend in the interest of fairness to the international teams who were unable to compete.
In the end it was Claudia Rossi in the top spot with the Petite Terrible-Adria Ferries. Giangiacome Serena di Lapigio on the G-Spot clinched the number two spot and third place went to Ludovico Fassitelli on theJunda-Banca del Sempione.
 
Photo by Raffaele Origone
 
 

Slam dunk by Roca team

by: Stephanie Horsman
08/03/2021

AS Monaco Basketball beat a tough Elan Bearnais Pau-Orthez team on Saturday despite being without Head Coach Zvezdan Mitrovic, taking home their ninth straight Jeep Elite victory and securing top spot in the standings.
The Roca Team went into overtime against Pau-Orthez in a hard fought match that showed their opponents to be a far better team than their Jeep Elite standings say.
The game started out fairly dramaless. By 10 minutes in, Monaco had a comfortable 22 to 14 lead and it looked like smooth sailing. This is when Pau kicked into gear and in the next few minutes, the two teams were only one point off each other.
After a bombshell shot from eight metres found its way into the hoop from Dee Bost, the Elan Coach Laurent Vila took a timeout to regroup.
From this point on it was a back and forth between two teams who were in it to win it.
The game went to sudden death when, at the buzzer, the teams were evened up at 88 to 88. With five extra minutes on the clock, the Roca boys stepped up their game. Everyone kicked into high gear, especially Lessort who racked up seven points in those last minutes of play, giving Monaco the solid win at 102 to 95.
It was Bost who was Monaco’s high scorer in a high scoring game. He gave his team 23 points on the night, followed by Marcos Knight with 18, Abdou Ndoye with 15, JJ O’Brien with 13 and Lessort with 12.
“We were warned about the quality of Pau-Orthez,” Assistant Coach Mirko Ocokoljic said after the game. “It was not an easy evening, but we have a great group of guys who don’t give up. There are no small matches, you always have to be consistent to win.”
More AS Monaco Basketball action comes Tuesday night when they face off against Unicaja in an away Euro Cup 7 match.
 
Monaco Life with AS Monaco Basketball press release, photo by AS Monaco Basketball