Monaco is one of the world's finest cultural capitals where are majestically represented all the arts. Regarding its architecture, Monaco has many buildings that have marked every period of its existence. These include the chapelle Sainte Devote in the Vallon des Gaumates, which was built in the eleventh century, in memory of the frail craft that had failed and where Sainte Devote was lying.
Witness of the Baroque period, the chapelle de la Miséricorde was built in the XVIIth century in the Old City. The Prince's Palace, on the Rock was built on the site of a fortress erected by the Genoese in 1215. You can admire its Italian-style gallery and its XVIth century frescoes; the Salon Louis XV all in yellow and gold, the Salon Bleu, wonder of blue and gold harmony; the Salon Mazarin covered with multicolored wood; the Salle du Trône decorated with a large Renaissance fireplace; the Chapelle Palatine built in the seventeenth century; the Sainte Marie tour, with white stones from La Turbie; the Cour d'Honneur and its marble of Carrara XVIIth century's staircase... It encloses the highest density of the architectural treasures of the Principality. The second most important building of the Rock is the oceanographic museum, built early last century on the initiative of Prince Albert 1st, nicknamed the "Navigator Prince." 100,000 tons of stone from La Turbie were needed to build this imposing building located on a cliff to the Mediterranean Sea, 80 meters below.
