A postcard setting: Le Larvotto
Rediscover in pictures the history of your favorite neighborhoods. Today, make way for the emblematic Larvotto.
Summer is just around the corner and tourists are starting to flock to the beautiful Larvotto beach. However, this district has not always had the aspect that we know today and many works have changed its appearance over the last century.
Initially, only a border of pebble beach bordered this very sparsely inhabited area. And for good reason, the Larvotto was an unhealthy marsh. Almost deserted at the end of the 17th century (only two inhabitants were renamed), the district developed at the rate of the arrival of tourists and successive constructions. Nicknamed, first, the “Seagulls”, the district then took the name of “Bas-Moulins”, then, it adopted its final name of Larvotto.
The 1930s show one of the three major transformations of the district and, more particularly, of the beach. To separate the beach and “the Larvotto baths” from the boulevard des Bas-Moulins, a retaining wall was built.
In the 1950s, the beaches were still made of small pebbles.
The greatest metamorphosis comes thanks to Prince Rainier III. In 1961, the “Prince Builder” decided to build a 54,000m² extension on the Mediterranean Sea.
Work ended in 1963 and two years later, in 1965, work began on Larvotto beach, which will keep its shape until today. Sand replaces the pebbles and breakwaters are added to protect the beach from the onslaught of the waves. The Sporting Monte-Carlo is integrated into the new extension, ten years later, and is completed in 1974.
Larvotto beach changed very little throughout the end of the 20th century. Only buildings grow and exceed ever higher heights. In 2005, however, the Monte-Carlo Bay Hotel & Resort will imprint its neo-classical style and silhouette on the sea extension just next to the Sporting.
Today, Larvotto beach has just been renovated by the architect Renzo Piano. It has retained its particular shape but has undergone some architectural changes that give pride of place to the shops. Questioned by Monaco Tribune, users are, for the most part, satisfied with this new seaside resort, even if they regret the lack of vegetation for the moment.
The Larvotto has not finished molting. Not far from the beach, a new offshore extension is under construction in the Portier sector. Scheduled for 2025, it will enlarge the Principality by six hectares.
Monaco evolved a lot throughout the 20th century, the Larvotto district bears witness to these changes. The rest of the city is not left out and if you then want to discover more, a group of enthusiasts, administered by Jean-Paul Bascoul, met on Facebook to share their old photos of the Principality: Monaco4Ever.
You too, send us your photos of the Larvotto as you knew it on our collaborative Facebook page or by email: [email protected]