On a hill midway between Antibes and Nice, about 7 miles from either, is the old village of Cagnes, forming a very picturesque feature of the landscape.
Crowning the summit of the hill is a Castle (open daily), built in the early years of the fourteenth century by the Grimaldi who was then proprietor of Monaco, and who had been given the lordship of Cagnes by the King of Naples. More than once it has been restored and the interior modified.
There is a staircase, a balustrade of marble, a beautiful mantelpiece, and on the walls and ceiling of the large drawing-room are paintings representing the history of Phaeton that on the ceiling shows him being precipitated to earth.
It is signed by Carlone (d. 1677).
The ancient chapel has been converted into a museum.
The view from the summit of the tower is magnificent, as indeed is that from the terrace adjoining the Castle. Rue Carnot passes through the base of the church tower to Place Grimaldi, with buildings supported on arches, a double flight of steps concluding the ascent.
The Church, dedicated to Notre-Dame de Protection, has an exceptionally dark interior.
It contains some interesting wood work. Having levelled its ancient walls, the village has crept down the hill and is growing fast along the high road and on the fertile plain watered by the Cagne, the Malvan and the Loup.
As the newer site is rather low and damp, mosquitoes are troublesome at times, but nevertheless there are many advantages which counterbalance the winged pest.
The variety of aspect afforded by the neighbourhood, and the oddities of the village, have attracted writers and artists, so that Cagnes has a colony of painters of all nationalities, who by the subjects chosen and the method of treatment have evolved ” the Cagnes School.”
Also among the residents there are always to be found men of letters. Principal occupation is the cultivation of carnations, grown in terraces along the valleys of the Malvan and the Cagne.
Close to Cagnes, there is St. Véran, between the railway and the sea, is named after an early bishop of Vence, who had been a pupil of St. Honorat. He founded a convent at the mouth of the Loop, and there are still slight remains of the little church.
Since the village began to draw nearer to the coast and found the Sea-bathing there appreciated by strangers, it has called itself Cagnes-sur-Mer.
It is a quiet winter resort.
Various fetes are organized, and besides the obvious Nice, Antibes, Juan Les Pins, Golfe -Juan and Cannes, there are several interesting places which can easily be visited.
Among them are Biot, 3 miles; La Colle, 3 miles; St. Paul 4 miles, Vence 7 miles, Villeneuve-Loubet, about 2 miles; Grasse, about 15, all served by bus or trough one of our Limousine or rent car.
The adjacent Cros-de-Cagnes, on the road to Nice, is a small fishing village with a church and post office and a small sandy beach. Bordering the main promenade road, and adjoning the mouth of the Loup, is the racecourse, l’Hippodrome de la Cote d’Azur.
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