Monaco’s Prince Albert II has travelled to the Cantabria region in Northern Spain to tour an archaeological centre that bears the name of his great-grandfather, Prince Albert I, a man described by the site’s curators as the ‘Prince of Prehistory’.
On Friday 31st May, Prince Albert swapped the Mediterranean for the Atlantic and headed to the town of Puente Viesgo in the Spanish region of Cantabria.
His primary destination was the Centro de Arte Rupestre de Cantabria Alberto I de Mónaco (CARC), a museum that presents the various findings and artefacts unearthed over the years at this celebrated cave network and archaeological site.
Prince Albert I, the great-grandfather of Monaco’s current sovereign, Prince Albert II, was one of the biggest champions of this Cantabrian locale as a place of significant historical interest during the early 20th century and played a major role in the excavations that discovered the traces of the first human settlements in the region here.
During his recent visit, today’s Prince Albert was tasked with unveiling a commemorative plaque honouring the work of his forebear at the museum as well as a temporary exhibition that explores Prince Albert I’s contributions to the legacy of the cave network. The exhibition was put together with the help of the Archives of the Palace in Monaco and the Principality’s own Museum of Prehistoric Anthropology.
Other notable figures who joined Prince Albert at the ceremony included: the President of the Government of Cantabria; the President of the Parliament of Cantabria; the Mayor of Puente Viesgo; Catherine Fautrier, the Ambassador of Monaco to Spain; and the Director of the CARC, Roberto Ontañón.
Following a guided tour of the museum, which was personally led by Ontañón, Prince Albert oversaw the signing of a special agreement between the Museum of Prehistoric Anthropology of Monaco and the Government of Cantabria.
According to representatives for the Prince, “This agreement will promote scientific and cultural cooperation in the field of prehistory.”
To see more of the visit, click on the images below:
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Photo credit: Axel Bastello / Palais Princier de Monaco