Real estate Italian riviera

Vieux Nice
Dismissed as a dangerous slum in the 1970S, Nice's Vieil le Ville, a piquant quarter east of Place Massena, is easily the trendiest part of Nice, brimful of cafes, bistros, nightclubs, designer boutiques and galleries. And the population,once poorand ethnically mixed, is now more than half French and upwardly mobile. But the shock of the new is mitigated by the tenacity of the old grandmotherly underwear, paint and stationery shops and no-name working-<br />
men's bars which have so far refused to budge. Picasso liked to walk here because it reminded him of Barcelona's Bari Chino.<br />
'Vieux' in Vieux Nice means Genoese seaside Baroque - tali, steep palazzi, many with opulent 17th- and 18th-century portals and windows.tuming then arrow streets and steps belowe into chasms that suddenly open up into tiny squares, each with its chapel.To this day, the old Nicois are among the most religious people on the coast, and stili join the confraternities of Penitents: lay organiza-tions dedicated to public demonstrations of penitence.founded in Italy in the Hth century during the great Franciscan and Dominican revivals. During the Baroque period,when a numberof theirchapels sprang up.the brotherhoods.distinguishable by the colours of their hooded cloaks, became increasingly involved in a kindofearly social work: the White Penitents caredfor the sick,the Black Penitents for the dying and the Blue Penitents looked after orphans.Ofthecity's originai seven confraternities,four stili survive, ali of which reside in this neighbourhood.<br />
At its eastern end, the Vieille Ville is closed by the Colline du Chateau.the ancient acropolis of Nikaia and site of the 10th-12th-century town and the cathedral of Ste-Marie.Of the latter, afewruins remain-the Savoyards demolished it to make way for their citadel, which was inturn blown up by the congeni-tallysuspicious Sun King, Louis XIV.Greek and Ligurian remains have been discovered beneath it. A daily cannon blast, heard across Niceat noon, booms out from up here; the tradition was begun by an Englishman, Sir Thomas Coventry, whogotfed up with eating his meals at irregular hours and put a stop to it with the precisely timed firingof the cannon. You can eitherwalk upthesteps tothe chateau,takethetourist mini-trainfrom the Promenade des Anglais which givesyou a little tour through theflower market and around the Vieille Ville on the way, or payafewsoustotake the lift at the east end of the Ouai des Etats-Unis, near Tour Bellanda, where Berlioz composed his King LearOverture.