Palais Princier de Monaco, Monte Carlo.

First constructed as a Genoese fortress in 1191, the Princes Palace of Monaco has been the seat of power and home of the ruling Grimaldi family of Monaco for over 700 years, through which time it has gone from a defensive bastion to a decadent yet still overtly defiant residential palace.

Named by the Romans ‘Portus Hercules Moneici’, from which derives the modern name Monaco, the history of this steep mountain flanked enclave is long and illustrious. The Grimaldi family sit at the very centre of a substantial and profitable chunk of this story.

Legend has it that on a historic night in January 1297 Francois Grimaldi, the family having been exiled from Monaco during a dispute between the pope and the imperial crown, snuck past the castle guards disguised as a monk seeking shelter from the winter storms. Once past the defences Francois threw off his disguise and slew the gate defenders leading his force of men through the castle to dispel the occupying Ghibelline troops and recapture his familial home. Francois’ statue stands in the grounds of the palace to this day commemorating that fateful night, from which the Grimaldi dynasty have never been unseated.

Coming under substantial attacks and falling under continued sieges from the neighbouring powers of Genoa, Pisa, Venice, Naples, France, Spain, Germany and England the fortress never fell.

Following decades upon decades of heavy bombardment over numerous conflicts and disputes the fortress was repaired, rebuilt and restyled over the centuries that followed. Reworked and architecturally enlightened during the Renaissance period in which Monaco established itself as an integral and highly profitable centre of trade, the castle grew and was renovated into the luxuriously comfortable palace which dominates the Monte Carlo landscape today.

To this day withholding its status as an independent city state, despite a brief occupancy following the French Revolution, the Principality of Monaco in the 21st century represents wealth, decadent opulence, super cars, mega yachts and has become (or perhaps retains its reputation as) a safe haven for the ridiculously rich and wondrously wealthy.