March 2023 - Page 26 of 30

Photos: “To Catch a Thief” villa goes up for sale for €3.6 million

06/03/2023

The villa that provided the spectacular backdrop to some of the most iconic scenes in Alfred Hitchcock’s “To Catch a Thief” starring Princess Grace and Cary Grant has gone up for sale with Côte d’Azur Sotheby’s International Realty.

With its stunning views of the Mediterranean, Nice and the Baou de Saint Jeannet, Villa Les Bolovens would be a prize to any buyer looking for something truly special in the French Riviera, but it is the property’s unique history that is grabbing headlines.

In 1954, celebrated filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock selected the Côte d’Azur as the location for one of his most famous films, “To Catch a Thief”. It starred Grace Kelly, later Princess Grace of Monaco and the mother of current sovereign Prince Albert II, alongside Cary Grant. She would meet her future husband, Prince Rainier III, at the Cannes Film Festival the following year.

*Cary Grant and Grace Kelly, later Princess Grace of Monaco, at Villa Les Bolovens during the shooting of Alfred Hitchcock’s 1945 “To Catch a Thief”*

Villa Les Bolovens features throughout the film, but perhaps most notably in the final scene: the kiss. According to Sotheby’s, the agency in charge of the sale, the villa’s “successive owners have always maintained it in a way that perpetuates the charm filmed by the British director”.

“To Catch a Thief” would go on to win an Oscar for Best Cinematography in 1956 and was also nominated for Best Set; a node to the beauty of the location chosen for the film.

The seven-bed property, which was built in 1935, has been listed for €3.6 million. It comes with 5,000m2 of land, a swimming pool, exceptional sea views and a caretaker’s house alongside the main property.

For more information, please click here.

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Photos courtesy of Côte d’Azur Sotheby’s International Realty

How Monaco’s new digital real estate tool is shaping understanding of this exclusive market

by: Stephanie Horsman

06/03/2023

Monaco Statistics has launched an interactive real estate “dashboard” tool that breaks down the data on the Principality’s varied property market, providing fresh insight neighbourhood-by-neighbourhood.

Real estate is big business in Monaco, but despite the country’s small size, not every neighbourhood is the same. To help people better understand what is happening in the area they live or are looking to buy in, Monaco Statistics – also known as IMSEE – has created a handy dashboard to make pinpointing information on specific parts of the Principality simpler.

This easy-to-use interactive tool allows users to select the place they are interested in and with just one click, the dashboard displays data such as the number of recent property sales in the area, surface area occupied by housing, the average price per-square-meter, property value rises and falls over the last decade, a general overview of the market, and more.

For example, if a person was interested in Fontvieille, they could use the dashboard to clearly see that there were 44 resales in 2022, with a median price of €55,300 per-square-metre, and that this rate has gone up by 54.6% since 2013.

The dashboard was created in collaboration with the government’s Digital Services Department.

To try it for yourself, please click here.

Basketball: Roca Team imperious in Nanterre thrashing

by: Luke Entwistle

06/03/2023

AS Monaco Basketball dazzled fans with an offensive festival over the weekend, emphatically dispatching Nanterre (108-87) in the Betclic Elite to further solidify their position at the top of the table.

Between the visits of Maccabi Tel Aviv and Panathinaikos to the Salle Gaston Médecin, Monaco had to attend to domestic matters. The Roca Team are top of the Betclic Elite and qualification to the end-of-season playoffs already seems a foregone conclusion, but maintaining positive momentum is key for Sasa Obradovic’s side, who have many hurdles yet to overcome this season if they are to obtain silverware.

Yoan Makoundou steps up

Monaco are experiencing a revival of sorts, and Sunday’s victory against Nanterre further evidenced that. It was another emphatic attacking display from the Principality side, who once again broke the 100-point mark on their way to a serene victory.

As is often the case, the Roca Team heavily rotated for the domestic division. Yoan Makoundou (24 points, nine rebounds) has always heeded the call when needed this season, and this was no different on Sunday. The Frenchman was pivotal on both sides of the court, as was Alpha Diallo (22 points), who has become a very essential cog in the Monégasque machine.

A “serious” victory

The same is true of Mike James (13 points, 13 assists), who sometimes takes a more back-seat role in these Betclic Elite ties, but who was crucial in allowing Monaco to flow in attack. Bar the first quarter (25-25), the Roca Team won every other, registering 30 or more points twice.

“It was a very serious match on our part. I am happy with the victory and the performance on the court. With the Euroleague coming up, it’s a good thing,” said Obradovic post-match.

Monaco now prepare for the returns of former Roca players Paris Lee and Dwayne Bacon, who both ply their trade for Panathinaikos. Currently fifth in the Euroleague, a victory is vital for Obradovic’s side, who are looking to secure home-court advantage for the end-of-season play-offs.

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Photo by AS Monaco Basket

“The ship has reached the shore”: 52 countries agree to monumental Treaty of the High Seas

by: Stephanie Horsman

06/03/2023

By 2030, no less than 30% of the world’s oceans will have protected status. Negotiations on the historic Treaty of the High Seas are complete and the EU has pledged €40 million to help smooth its implementation by developing nations.

A meeting to button up the treaty took place at the UN headquarters in New York last week. Now agreed upon, the Treaty of the High Seas will ensure the sustainable use of marine areas that go beyond the scope of national jurisdictions.

Following the agreement, the president of the conference, Rena Lee, who is Singapore’s Ambassador for Oceans and Law of the Sea Issues and Special Envoy of the Minister for Foreign Affairs, announced, “The ship has reached the shore.”

Her speech marked the end of nearly two decades of discussions to find solutions for this ongoing issue.

The treaty’s coalition is a 52 country-strong group committed to pushing through solid ocean protection legislation and acts. The agreement was also helped along by the necessity to follow through on the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Agreement of December 2022 that pledged to protect no less than 30% of the ocean by 2030.

The new treaty will work to establish marine protected areas in places that fall outside any one government’s authority, allowing for monitoring of these areas and enforcement of measures when the areas are being abused.

The EU and other participants will now need to ratify the accord, and the EU says it intends to make haste in getting this done. The bloc also plans to help in the transitory period, assisting in preparing developing countries before implementation, and has allocated €40 million toward that end as part of the Global Ocean Programme.

The agreement is particularly important as nearly two thirds of the world’s seas are beyond national jurisdiction and are sensitive to overexploitation, pollution, decreasing biodiversity and climate change. This treaty will make it the duty of all to protect, cooperate and preserve the marine environment for future generations.

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Photo by Pexals on Pixabay

Football: Wasteful Monaco slip to late draw at Troyes

by: Luke Entwistle

05/03/2023

AS Monaco conceded an injury-time equaliser against Troyes on Sunday after having fought their way back into the game in the dying stages thanks to a Wissam Ben Yedder brace.

Les Monégasques were looking to bounce back after consecutive defeats, firstly to Bayer Leverkusen in the Europa League, and then against local rivals OGC Nice at the Stade Louis II last weekend.

“We lacked a finishing touch”

Philippe Clement’s side will be made to rue missed chances against relegation strugglers Troyes. Monaco arguably should have put the game to bed in the first half with good chances falling to Aleksandr Golovin and Ben Yedder, however, they ultimately went back to the dressing rooms with a deficit.

Romy Kouamé scored for Troyes in one of the very few rare ventures into the Monaco half, leaving the Principality club in need of at least two goals to take the three points away from the Stade de l’Aube.

Monaco could have been two behind if not for a crucial intervention from Axel Disasi, who saved Abdu Conté’s effort off the line. Clement’s side made use of their second life. With the minutes ticking away, Ben Yedder, culpable of missing a few chances earlier on, netted a quickfire double to put Monaco on the brink of victory.

However, in injury time, Iké Ugbo, rose highest to head past Alexander Nübel to draw the scores level at 2-2. Both sides ultimately take just a point away from a fixture that could have gone either way.

Monaco maintain podium place

“It’s frustrating because if we had been more lucid in the final action, by playing like we did in the second half throughout the match, the result would have been completely different. We need to concentrate over the course of the 90 minutes, not just for a period of the match. We had more chances, but we lacked a finishing touch, ” said Clement post-match.

Despite Monaco’s failure to beat the relegation-struggling Troyes, Monaco remain on the podium as RC Lens drew against Lille OSC in the Derby du Nord on Saturday. Monaco next face Reims at the Stade Louis II next Sunday.

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Photo by AS Monaco

Formula 1: Max Verstappen victorious in Bahrain as Charles Leclerc retires

by: Luke Entwistle

05/03/2023

Max Verstappen was in a league of his own as he strode to victory in the Formula One curtain-raiser in Bahrain on Sunday, whilst Charles Leclerc retired with a technical issue.

Suspicions of Red Bull supremacy were confirmed at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Sakhir, however, there is room for hope for Ferrari, who showed pace and nous over the course of a promising weekend, which ultimately with just a smattering of points.

Verstappen unrivalled

Verstappen’s victory never looked in doubt. Despite a lightning start from Leclerc, which allowed the Monégasque to get the jump on Sergio Perez at the first corner, Verstappen’s lead wasn’t challenged.

It was clear that only a bad pitstop or a technical failure would deny the reigning World Champion, and it never came. Behind him, there was little movement with a midrace battle between former world champions Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton providing a brief moment of entertainment in a largely processional race.

Charles Leclerc: “Red Bull were on another planet.”

Despite all of the talk of Aston Martin’s competitivity, it was clear that Ferrari looked closest to Red Bull for a large period of the race. Leclerc competed with Perez before differing strategies saw the Mexican driver take second place off the Monégasque.

Leclerc was still in contention for the second step of the podium before a loss of power on lap 41 prematurely ended a promising race. The 2022 Bahrain GP winner wouldn’t finish this year’s edition, and Ferrari would ultimately miss out on a podium altogether, despite evidencing some promising race pace.

Having got the best of Hamilton in a lively battle, Alonso then overtook compatriot Carlos Sainz in the closing stages to reach the podium. Ferrari’s Spaniard struggled with bouncing but would beat the charging Hamilton to the chequered flag, taking 12 hard-earned points away from the Gulf state.

The grid heads to Saudi Arabia

Despite positive signs, there was nonetheless disappointment for Leclerc. “[The retirement] was a shame. We were having a good race until that point and we have to maximise our points in such races. Red Bull were on another planet in the race and third would have been our best possible result; they were really too quick for us this weekend,” said the Monégasque driver.

The season is yet long, and Leclerc will be hoping to score his first points of the season at the next race in Saudi Arabia on 19th March.

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Photo from Scuderia Ferrari press centre

Month: March 2023

Photos: “To Catch a Thief” villa goes up for sale for €3.6 million

How Monaco’s new digital real estate tool is shaping understanding of this exclusive market

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