Piazza Garibaldi - one of the oldest in the city. This is a symbolic place for Nice, associated with the name of the most famous of her son.

Such a title she wore not always: the ensemble near the city's harbor began to form in the XVIII century. In 1773, the architect Antoine Spinelli laid here area. By decision of the King of Sardinia, Victor Amadeus III is conducted road Nice - Turin. Paved path worthy of the King, the area expanded, framed buildings with uniform facades ocher.

In 1784 there was built under the project of the same Spinelli neoclassical chapel of the Holy Sepulchre. It gave the area a festive appearance. On the facade of the chapel above the three entrance arches, you can see the three gun kernel: they hung there in memory of the siege by the Turks in Nice in 1543.

Area consistently regained the names of King Victor Emmanuel, the Republic (after the capture of the city by the French in 1792), Napoleon (in the days of the Empire), Weapons (after the city returned to Sardinia), St. Augustine (after the annexation of Nice, France). In 1870, it was named after the great native of Nice Giuseppe Garibaldi.

Garibaldi was born in Nice in 1807. Following in the footsteps of his father, he became a sailor. Swimming in the Mediterranean and Black seas, Taganrog acquainted with Italian political emigrant, who instilled in the young captain of the republican idea. For his part in the conspiracy against the monarchy in Savoy, he was sentenced to death, he fled to South America, traded, fought for the independence of the new states. It was in South America, Garibaldi on the occasion cheaply bought for their soldiers red shirts, which became a symbol of his troops. In 1848, across Europe flared revolution, Garibaldi hurried home. With a small detachment he landed in Nice, after a series of brilliant victories was defeated, he emigrated to the United States. In 1859, him secretly met Prime Minister of Sardinia Count Cavour and persuaded to take part in the war against Austria. Volunteers have become a force of Garibaldi, who played a crucial role in the creation of today's unified Italy.

Garibaldi died on June 2, 1882. Two days later, the city council decided to build on the Nice area of ​​the monument to the great patriot. The project has created a sculptor Antoine ETECSA, but he died before he could carve a statue. The sculptor Jean-Baptiste Gustave Deloye pedestal increased four times and added two bronze lions at the sides. On the marble Garibaldi - shirt, apparently, the same red. Hand, he relies on his sword. The monument stands in the center of the majestic fountain.

Now the area is completely renovated, paved with basalt and gneiss. Basically, it is given to pedestrians exception - it crosses the tram line. On the facades of the surrounding buildings in the Baroque style stand out for the traditional green shutters Nice. In the arcades are covered antique shops. The local cafe "Torino" is famous for its seafood dishes: in 1891 here offers Mediterranean oysters, the company that supplies the famous family Rumegu - the sixth generation.