OPEN AIR ART:FRANCE SCULPTURES IN NICE AND SAINT -JEAN-CAP-FERRAT

Public art is fascinating. Sculptures are set up in the city of Nice in France and at Saint-Jean- Cap -Ferrat. You may study the sculptures without attention to official time for public access. Photos were taken this summer in 2013. Open air sculptures.Take a look and enjoy yourself.

At Saint-Jean- Cap- Ferrat you may enjoy some more sculptures.

MENTON: BEACH LIBRARY AND A SCULPTURE

Menton is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes Department in Provence-Aples-Cote d'Azur region in southerneastern France. The city is situated on the French Riviera. On the beach of the city you find a public beach Library. During my study for my Degree in librarianship in Oslo, Norway in year 1970, the topic of setting up public libraries around in the country was on the agenda. Why not move the collections of books to sites where you find people? Railway stations, airports, public parks, schooles, beaches where sites suggested as new sites for the books. The year now is 2013. Menton was visited because the city is nice.The beach  of the city is splendid. I was surprised to see a public library set up close to the beach. The work for my Degree in librarianship and the talks among dedicted librarians 37 years ago were brought to my mind. Splendid. What about getting access to video and dvd? It is also a possibility on the beach of Menton. Close to the library, a sculpture was put up for public use. The sculpture is called: " Ulysses "(2000). The name of the sculptor is Anna Chromy. She is a painter and sculptor born in Czech Republic in 1940. Anna Chromy is educated at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts. Literature and sculptor put together in nice harmony close to the beach of Menton. Art in open air and free for all to view and use. When you pay the city of Menton a visit in the future, take a look at the sculpture close to the beach. Art is best in open air and not in museums where you have to accept a limited time for the visit.

HISTORY ON THE WALL: MEMORIAL TO FRANCIS GALLON, NICE, FRANCE

All over the city of Nice you will find memorial plaques about the French Resistance during the second world war. Forgotten, ignored or suppressed by people who are paying the city a visit?
Francis Gallo was only seventeen and a half year of age when he was killed by the Germans in 1944.
A memorial plaque is set up where two streets are meeting: Rue du Marche and Rue du Pontir in the old town of the city. It is not easy to find the palque. I have not found much information about the boy but I found this report about the reason for killing the young boy:
"... Le nom de Francis Gallo, habitant du quartier, a ete donne a la Rue en souvenir du massacre de Saint Julien du Verdon, a l'aube de 11 juin 1944.Treize otages furent captures a Nice, et livres aux Allemands en represailles des pertes que ces demiers venaient de subir du fait de Resistance. A' age
17 ans Francis Gallo faisait parti des cinq Lyceens du Lycee Massena qui furent abattus....".
Only seveteen and a half - Francis Gallo.

HISTORY ON THE WALL: NAPOLEON BONAPARTE IN NICE

In year 1793 Napoleon Bonaperte was promoted to Brigadier-General. He was also named inspector of the coast based in Nice in the South of France. In March 1796 was appointed Commander of the Army of Italy. Napoleon Bonaparte ( 1769 - 1821) was a French military and political leader. He was Emperor of France from 1804 to 1815. The city of Nice was visited by Napoleon Bonaparte. He stayed in a house in the old part of the city in  March 1796. If you walk to the old city searching for a restaurant for dinner, you will pass the old building and you take a look at the wall where you find a memorial plaque.

OPEN AIR ART: SAINT-PAUL-DE-VENCE

What do they have in common: Yves Montand, Simone Signoret, Jacquet Prevert, Marc Chagall and Bernard-Henry Levy? They all loved the old medieval village St.Paul de Vence situated in southeastern France. The village is one of the oldest medieval towns on the French Riviera. St.Paul de Vence is a commune in Alpes-Maritimes Department in southeastern France. The village is also famous for outdoor art exhibitions. Sculptures are set up around in the village. I took photos of some of the schulptures. A visit to the old fortified village is a must for those of you who are interested in art, paintings, sculptures set up in the open air and not stored in old buildings with a limited time for visitors.

HISTORY ON THE WALL: FRANCE, THE SECOND WORLD WAR AND THE CITY OF NICE

Nice is the Capital of Alpes Maritimes Department. Nice is a large city. The second biggest city of the Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur region after Marseille is Nice. During the second world war a resistance movement was established. The first resistants were a group of High School  seniors of Lycee Massena in September 1940. The members of the group were later on arrested and executed in 1944. Nice was a target for American bombers in preparation for the Allied landing in Provence. On August 30, 1944, American troops liberated the city. So far some facts about the city and the war. On the walls of old buildings memorial posters are set up. I have taken photos of the memorial plaques and I present a selection of the war memorial plaques.
Jean Bobichon, Giuge Joseph, Jean Lippmann, Jean Moulin, Francois Pausell, Nicham Dermadirossian and Bruno Ratti: Unknown particans to most of the foreign visitors walking in the streets of Nice to enjoy life?