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Day: 13 February 2026

From Poussin to the present: Monaco exhibition traces four centuries of nature

by: Kyriaki Topalidou
13/02/2026

The Nouveau Musée National de Monaco has launched its first exhibition of 2026, bringing together works by nearly 40 contemporary artists alongside classical paintings. Some of the most notable are five canvases by the 17th century French painter Nicolas Poussin. 

‘Le Sentiment de la Nature. L’art contemporain au miroir de Poussin – The Feeling of Nature: Contemporary Art in the Mirror of Poussin’ runs at the Villa Paloma from 13th February to 25th May. The show was curated by Guillaume de Sardes, a writer and exhibition-maker who previously presented ‘Pasolini en clair-obscur’ at the same venue in 2024.

Nicolas Poussin, (1594-1665), spent most of his career in Rome despite being French, and is widely regarded as the first painter to treat nature as a subject in its own right instead of a background scenery. The exhibition uses his work to pose the question of whether this approach still resonates today.

From storms to butterflies

The show is divided into six sections: storms and nights, forests and gardens, seascapes and waterfalls, deserts and volcanoes, mountains, and flowers and butterflies. It spans sculpture, photography, video, installation and painting.

Some of most intriguing pieces are built around Poussin’s ‘The Storm’ (1651), an unusual work for a painter better known for ordered landscapes. Where Poussin painted the full drama of lighting striking, Fausto Melotti reduces rain to a single golden line and Pier Paolo Calzolari to a few spare marks. Then, Ange Leccia’s video goes even further, placing the viewer inside the storm rather than in front of it.

Nicolas Poussin, L’Orage (dit L’Orage Pointel), vers 1651. Huile sur toile, 99 x 132 cm. Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rouen, Inv. 975.1 @ GrandPalaisRmn / Gérard Blot. Photo by Monaco Life.

Equally surprising is the forests section, where Thomas Demand built an entire forest out of paper at 1:1 scale and photographed it. Hung alongside Poussin’s ‘Landscape at Grottaferrata’ (around 1626) and Giuseppe Penone’s canvases on which tree forms are traced directly in chlorophyll, it raises a quiet question about what we mean by “natural” in the first place.

Poetry over protest

The exhibition has a clear editorial position. Much contemporary art dealing with nature takes environmental urgency as its starting point. De Sardes has assembled something different — work that finds poetry and wonder in the natural world without ignoring its fragility.

The choice is deliberate: some artists, he argues, restore the sense of poetry in the world rather than simply document its threats. Whether that is a political choice or an aesthetic one is left, deliberately, to the visitor.

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Main photo credit: Monaco Life

Monaco begins major road resurfacing ahead of Grand Prix and Vuelta

by: Cassandra Tanti
13/02/2026

Monaco has launched an extensive road resurfacing campaign from Monday 16th February to Monday 19th March in preparation for upcoming motorsport and cycling events, including the Monaco Grand Prix and the principality’s first hosting of La Vuelta.

The Urban Planning Department is conducting the works, which are more extensive than previous years due to the addition of the international cycling race to Monaco’s usual Grand Prix preparations.

Nighttime operations to limit disruption

To minimise impact on traffic, all works will take place at night with appropriate signage in place. Temporary road closures and parking restrictions will be implemented, with specific information provided to residents.

Emergency services and police will maintain access to all areas during the works. Pedestrian routes will remain open and marked throughout the construction period.

Affected bus routes will be diverted from 8pm, with information distributed by the Compagnie des Autobus de Monaco. Users of impacted car parks can request temporary parking in neighbouring facilities.

Five-week rolling schedule

Works begin in Monaco-Ville on 16th February with Avenue de la Porte Neuve and Avenue Saint-Martin, before moving to the Marquet roundabout, Boulevard Albert Ier and Place Sainte-Dévote during the week of 23rd February.

The campaign continues through early March covering the port area, Avenue des Guelfes, Quai Antoine Ier and the Portier sector. The Madone roundabout, Quai Jean-Charles Rey, Boulevard d’Italie and Place des Moulins receive attention during the week of 9th March.

Final works take place from 16th to 19th March on Boulevard Albert Ier entrance, Avenue des Citronniers and Avenue Princesse Grace.

Parking and access restrictions

Major parking facilities will face temporary closures during the works. The Visitation car park closes on nights of 16th-17th and 19th-20th February. The Stade Louis II entrance closes on 23rd-24th February, though the Marquet tunnel remains open except to heavy vehicles.

The Sainte-Dévote car park closes on nights of 24th-26th February. Portier and Grimaldi Forum car parks close on nights of 25th-27th February and again 4th-6th March, with Louis II car park access maintained. The Annonciade car park closes on 12th-13th March, and Métropole car park on 17th-18th March.

Most restrictions run from 8pm to 6am, with parking prohibitions typically beginning at 4pm.

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Photo source: Government Communications Department

 

Fontvieille Shopping Centre begins moving walkway replacement

by: Cassandra Tanti
13/02/2026

The Monaco government has announced the start of works to replace moving walkways serving the two parking levels at Fontvieille Shopping Centre as part of the facility’s ongoing modernisation programme.

Following a tender process, a specialised company has been selected to carry out the operation. The works will be conducted sequentially on different walkways to ensure at least one circulation route remains available at all times.

Upward access maintained

Construction begins on 16th February. The upward direction will remain operational throughout the entire project, maintaining access to shops and the hypermarket during the works. Shopping trolley stations will be installed near lifts in the car park, close to public toilets, and at other strategic locations.

During the construction period, visitors are encouraged to use lifts for movement between levels, particularly when travelling downward. The arrangements have been agreed between the centre’s management and hypermarket operators.

Wider modernisation programme

The works form part of a broader initiative, with the government continuing site modernisation through an enhancement programme rolling out this year.

It is the first phase of a modernisation announced in July 2025, which includes a €10 million refurbishment of the centre that opened in 1992. The renovation works are scheduled to begin in 2028 after more than 18 years of delays.

Strike action

The announcement comes as approximately 80% of shops at the centre closed this week in protest over planned redevelopment. Traders objected to compensation packages and concerns they will not be guaranteed space in the renovated centre.

The government stated it remains attentive to traders’ concerns and intends to maintain dialogue with the Economic Interest Group and all affected businesses.

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Photo: Ongoing works at the Fontvielle shopping centre, by Monaco Life

 

 

Students confront Monaco’s coastal pollution: 36.5kg in six days

by: Cassandra Tanti
13/02/2026

The numbers tell the story: 36.5 kilograms of litter, 237 cigarette butts, 100 pieces of chewing gum, and countless takeaway food containers. All abandoned along Monaco’s coastline. All collected within six days. All discarded despite numerous public bins being readily available.

On Tuesday 10th February, students from the CM2 class at Institution François d’Assise-Nicolas Barré confronted this reality firsthand during a coastal cleanup of Monaco’s Marine Education Area, organised with support from the Monegasque Sanitation Company (SMA).

From observation to action

Over the six days prior, SMA workers collected every piece of litter abandoned on the ground along the site. The waste was weighed in front of the students—36.5 kilograms—then categorised with professional guidance. Glass, household waste, food packaging. The children identified what people throw away most frequently.

Then came the hands-on work. Equipped with gloves and collection materials, students worked in small groups to clean the site themselves. The activity revealed more than just surface litter. Their efforts uncovered 237 cigarette butts, approximately 100 pieces of chewing gum, various household waste including takeaway food packaging, and fishing-related materials: hooks, weights, tangled lines.

Photo source: AMPN

Making ambassadors

At the end of the morning, SMA awarded each student a ‘Coastal Protector’ certificate, recognising their environmental commitment. The company also distributed collection bags and educational tools to transform them into ambassadors for waste sorting and marine protection.

The initiative achieved more than a clean beach. It allowed children to observe pollution reality rather than just hear about it, understand the direct link between daily actions and coastal conditions, and develop a sense of responsibility for their environment. The message: protection is everyone’s responsibility, and individual actions matter.

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Photo source: AMPN