Beaulieu
sur Mer, France
Sister City since 1997
City Coordinator - Sherry Borgren
Beaulieu sur Mer, France
became our sixth official Sister City at a ceremonial
signing as part of the Tempe 125th anniversary and
re-dedication of City Hall ceremonies. City of Tempe Mayor
Neil Guilano and an official representative for the mayor
of Beaulieu signed the documents with over two hundred
Tempe citizens and international visitors witnessing the
event.
Beaulieu sur Mer is located on a sheltered cove that
provides one of the French Riveria's mildest climates and
is located midway between Nice and Monaco. Its population
of around five thousand residents nearly doubles in the
summer.
The freshest produce and fish are found each morning at a
typical Provincial market in one of the central squares.
After a noon cleanup, the space is occupied by sidewalk
cafes all afternoon and by pleasant, starlight dining in
the evening. Shoppers arrive from near and far to browse on
Saturday mornings when the market expands to fill the
entire square with stalls featuring bread and sausages from
nearby Corsica, cheese, crafts, and items of clothing.
One of Beaulieu's most famous sites is the Villa Kerylos,
designed by the eminent Hellenic scholar and archeologist,
Theodore Reinach. Constructed between 1902 and 1908, the
villa is a unique recreation of the dwellings of ancient
Greece, and was classified as an historical monument in
1967. Today it is available for guided tours as well as
private parties, dinners and cultural events.
Beaulieu occupies the emplacement of a prehistoric site and
the antique Greek Port of Anao. It was later enlarged by
the Romans who built residences of marble and mosaic. The
town and its suburbs were razed during the third century;
during the fourth century a small monastery was built of
which the first abbey was St. Hospice. The Lombards razed
the monastery and the inhabitants took refuge on the cliff
of the plateau of St. Michel (The Grand Corniche highway
today) . They would not come back down to the original
emplacement until the end of the thirteenth century.
Brief Chronology
1860
Beaulieu, a hamlet of the port town of
Villefranche, attracts by road and by rail, English, French
and Russian royalty, literary and political figures .. .
the town's residents witness the growing popularity of
their "beautiful place by the sea" ( Fr. "beau lieu sur
mer" or as Napoleon called it, "bella locca") as a winter
tourist resort.
1891
Beaulieu becomes independent of Villefranche.
At the turn of the century the charming winter resort of
Beaulieu welcomes the world's celebrities who return
frequently, building elegant large residences. The best
known are Leopold II, William II, First Prince of Wales,
the queens of Italy and Portugal, the Marquis of Salisbury,
the inventor Marinoni, the archeologist Theodore Reinach
who built the Villa Kerylos, owner of the New York Herald
Gordon Bennett, Count Tolstoy and Gustave Eiffel, the
engineer.
World War I caused the departure of these illustrious
residents, but the tourist vocation was established,
tourist seasons began again, the resort grew in popularity,
welcoming the new heads of state.
Between the
two wars, the economic and sociologic evolution allowed the
development of the summer tourist season.
The Centennial of Beaulieu's independence was celebrated in
1991.
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