Part VI: Provence and the Riviera in Visual Studio .NET

Maker UPCA in Visual Studio .NET Part VI: Provence and the Riviera

In the Old Town, a fine art collection is housed in the Palais Lascaris (15 rue Droite; % 04-93-92-01-35), a 17th-century Genoese-style palace with a grand central staircase and baroque staterooms The palace was the home of the Lascaris-Ventimiglia family, which in 1648 combined four houses to make the residence The family sold the palace in 1802, and it became a rabbit warren of squalid apartments until the city of Nice came to the rescue in 1942, purchasing the building and restoring it On display are 17th- and 18th-century objects, including Flemish tapestries, fa ence (colored pottery) vases, and displays of crafts such as weaving and pottery making Year-round, it s open Wednesday to Monday 10 am to 6 pm Admission is free Built from 1650 to 1680, the baroque Cath drale Ste-Reparate, in the heart of the Old Town (place Rossetti; % 04-97-13-42-01), is devoted to the patron saint of Nice, St Reparate Legend has it that her body was put on a barge out to sea, arriving back in the bay escorted by angels and doves (thus the name of Nice s bay, Baie des Anges, or Bay of Angels) The church s 12 chapels, which belonged to wealthy families and corporations, are decorated in rich stucco and marble The bell tower was added in the 18th century The cathedral also has the designation basilica, meaning a very important cathedral that hosted cardinals and bishops It s open daily 7:30 am to noon and 2 to 6 pm and admission is free Tuesday afternoons from 2 to 5 pm, a staff person leads free guided tours of the cathedral, following a vague, unstructured schedule that usually requires an advance telephone call and which is most willingly configured for groups of six participants or more Built in 1990, the enormous and daring Mus e d Art Moderne et d Art Contemporain (Promenade des Arts; % 04-93-62-61-62; wwwmamacniceorg) is highly entertaining as it follows the history of European and American avant-garde painting, starting in the 1960s Quite a bit of space is devoted to the works of Yves Klein, a Ni ois who made a big splash in the 1960s with his famous blue paintings and his happenings The museum also has a large collection of American pop art, with works by Warhol, Rauschenberg, and Lichtenstein It s open Tuesday to Sunday 10 am to 6 pm; it s closed January 1, Easter Sunday, May 1, and December 25 Admission is 4 ($520) for adults, 250 ($325) for students, and free for children younger than 18 The beautiful Mus e Matisse (164 av des Ar nes de Cimiez; % 04-93-8108-08; wwwmusee-matisse-niceorg), situated in an Italianate villa high above Nice, houses a wonderful collection of monographs, drawings, and engravings by Matisse, in addition to personal items of the artist, including sculptures, paintings he cherished, furniture and vases that appear in his paintings, and even a huge kouros (an ancient Greek statue) he owned The museum also owns Matisse s first painting, a dour 1890 still life, and one of his last gouaches from 1953 Matisse lived in Nice from 1917 until his death in 1954 and is buried in the cemetery nearby To get to the museum, take the no 15, 17, 20, or 22 bus to Cimiez, and get off at the Ar nes stop The museum is open year-round

Wednesday to Monday 10 am to 6 pm It s closed January 1, May 1, and December 25 Admission is 4 ($520) for adults; 250 ($325) for students; and free for children younger than 18 Nice even has Roman ruins Next to the Mus e Matisse in Cimiez is the ancient Baths of Cemenelum, founded in 14 BC by Augustus Admission is 4 ($480) for adults, 250 ($325) for students, and free for children younger than 18 To find out more, visit the Mus e Arch ologique de Nice-Cimiez, at 160 rue des Ar nes on the western boundary of the ruins (% 04-93-81-59-57) The collections range from the Metal Ages (1100 BC) to the Middle Ages and include ceramics, glass, coins, jewelry, and sculptures Hours and admission for both are the same as for the nearby Mus e Matisse While in Cimiez, you can peer into the Monast re de Cimiez (place du Monast re; % 04-93-81-00-04) The convent embraces a church that owns three of the most important works from the primitive painting school of Nice by the Br a brothers See the carved and gilded wooden main altarpiece In a restored part of the convent where some Franciscan friars still live, Mus e Franciscain is decorated with 17thcentury frescoes Some 350 documents and works of art from the 15th through 18th centuries are displayed, and a monk s cell has been recreated in all its severe simplicity The gardens offer panoramic views of Nice and the Baie des Anges Matisse and Dufy are buried in the cemetery Admission is free; the museum is open Monday to Saturday from 10 am to noon and 3 to 6 pm, the church daily from 9 am to 6 pm While living in nearby Vence between 1960 and 1966, artist Marc Chagall worked on his Bible paintings His paintings form the core of the collection at the Mus e National Message Biblique Marc Chagall, on avenue du Docteur-Menard, at the corner of boulevard de Cimiez (% 04-93-5387-20) The museum s collection, which is the largest public Chagall collection, spans the artist s life with works from the 1930s to his death in 1985 paintings, drawings, engravings, mosaics, glass windows, and tapestries The stark modern building that houses the works is set in a park in Cimiez, about a five-minute drive or short bus ride (no 15) north of the center of Nice The museum is open year-round Wednesday through Monday 10 am to 5 pm Admission is 650 ($845) adults, 450 ($585) for students, children younger than 18 free Entrance is free on the first Sunday of every month Nice s Mus e des Beaux-Arts (33 av des Baumettes; % 04-92-15-28-28;