Discover the history of Monaco’s cannons, from the 17th century to the present day
The Principality's cannons can still be seen today on the Place du Palais. © Jean-Paul Bascoul Collection
Whether on Fort Antoine or on the Place du Palais, cannons are still part of the Rock of Monaco landscape. So what is the link between the Principality and this artillery on permanent display?
Two 65mm cannons are back in service on the Fort Antoine esplanade, after almost a century, Several weeks ago, Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene each fired one of them. They replaced two obsolete guns, in service with the Prince’s Carabinieri Corps from 1890 to 1926.
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However, we need to go back a few centuries to recount the history between the Principality and the heavy artillery.
Cannons gifted to Monaco in the 17th century
“It is logical for Monaco, as a strategic stronghold that housed a French garrison between 1641 and the Revolution, to have been equipped with cannons,” says Thomas Blanchy, Deputy Director of the Prince’s Palace Archives and Library. In his book on Monaco’s Palace, published in 1932, Léon Honoré Labande mentions work carried out during the reign of Antoine I (1701-1731) to modernise the palace’s defences. He describes locations containing cannons, possibly some of the remnants of the past that we can see today.
The cannons on the Place du Palais © Jean-Paul Bascoul Collection
Legend has it that cannons were gifted to Monaco in the 17th century. These might be the ones at the Prince’s Palace and Fort Antoine, according to this article in the Journal de Monaco, dated 20 March 1877.
Thanks be to God, these weapons of war only serve to preserve the memory of a glorious past and heroically repelled attacks
Journal de Monaco, 20 mars 1877
“That is not the case for the bronze one on the terre-plein at Fort Antoine, even though it is also an outdated model. This one could still carry out its original purpose, as could the fourteen cannons and the two bronze mortars gifted by King Louis XIV to the Princes of Monaco as a testimony to their faithful alliance and their contribution to his country’s triumphant or ill-fated wars.
With the exception of one mortar and two cannons, all these pieces are of high calibre, and are perfectly cast; each has a name and bears the initials of the Sun King, with his coat of arms and the famous motto Nec pluribus impar. Pyramids of bombs and cannonballs are stacked at their side. But thanks be to God, these weapons of war only serve to preserve the memory of a glorious past and heroically repelled attacks, and the wealthy community of which the historic Grimaldi family is justly proud.”
The Gribeauval system at the Prince’s Palace
Some cannons were removed or destroyed in the revolutionary era, in the 1790s. Thomas Blanchy mentions the writings of count Ludovic de Colleville. “I don’t know whether we can completely lay stock in these writings. In his biography of Prince Albert I, published in 1908, he argues, without citing his sources, that Charles III and Albert I obtained the cannons that we see today on the place du Palais, as replacements for the older models given by Louis XIV and two that were installed under Napoleon.”
However, he confirms the presence, on a terrace located within the Palace grounds, of two Gribeauval guns, from the Napoleonic era. The name comes from an artillery system introduced by Lieutenant General Jean Baptiste Vaquette de Gribeauval in the 18th century that revolutionised French cannons, with a new manufacturing process that enabled lighter, more uniform guns, without any loss of range.
The 19th century, decorative and ceremonial
From the 19th century onwards, artillery in Monaco played a decorative and ceremonial role rather than a defensive one. At that time, the guns installed in Monaco were probably damaged and without their mountings, the wooden or metal frames that most often support the cannons or any heavy piece of artillery. “A report from 1877 tells us that artillery carriages and accessories were sent by the French Government from the artillery department in Toulon and handed over to the Palace commander,” says Thomas Blanchy. He adds that in 1880, a coachbuilder was paid to repair the gun carriages on Avenue de la Quarantaine.
Gun salutes
In 1904, the Principality acquired more modern artillery from the French Government for gun salutes at special events, such as the birth of Monegasque Princes and Princesses, or National Day. The Historical Unit of the Prince’s Carabinieri Company has drawn up a history of these guns.
Through it, we learn that at the beginning of the 20th century, salvos were mainly fired from the esplanade de la statue de la Mer or the esplanade Sainte-Barbe, on the Place du Palais. They were fired from Fort Antoine less often. This is where two 65mm models were recently replaced by two newcomers, recommissioned for the occasion.
At the time, as the Prince returned to the Principality after a long absence, he would be greeted by a gun salute. Rifleman Augustin Benelli (fourth from the left in the second image above) was responsible for firing the cannon between the 1910s and 1930s.
The 65 mm cannons were used at the time for events relating to the Princely Family. The funeral of Prince Albert I on 8 July 1922 or the birth of Prince Rainier III on 13 January 1923. That day, 21 cannon shots were fired from the Fort Antoine gardens. Had he been a Hereditary Prince, 101 shots would have been fired. He did not become one until 31 May 1944 when his mother, Princess Charlotte, waived her right of succession.
After 1926, there is no mention in the Carabinieri Company’s daily log books of any 65 mm cannons being fired. They appear to have fallen out of use. They were later stored under the porche d’Honneur at the Prince’s Palace, then displayed in the hallways and meeting rooms of the Palace and Saint-Roman barracks. Later, they would be transferred to the Moneghetti barracks.
A few years previously, the transition to 47mm guns was in motion. In 1924, two models were installed, and a test shot was fired from Fort Antoine. On March 27 of the same year, a 47mm cannon was used for a gun salute. All the ammunition was stored in a bunker at the nearby Pointe Saint-Martin.
In December 1925, the two guns were permanently installed on a terrace overlooking the port, at the rear of the Ministry of State. This marked the end of shots being fired from the esplanade de la statue de la Mer, and from the esplanade Sainte-Barbe. What was known as the Porte-Neuve battery was dismantled and finally transferred to Fort Antoine in 1967. Before being transferred, the 47mm cannons were used for a certain Princely Wedding, on April 19, 1956, between Prince Rainier III and the future Princess Grace, as well as for the births of Princess Caroline, Prince Albert II and Princess Stephanie.
The last time the Monaco cannons were heard across the whole Principality was on December 10, 2014, around 8 pm. Hereditary Prince Jacques and Princess Gabriella were born. Usually, the birth of a boy who would be first in line to the throne would call for 101 shots, with 21 for a girl. That night, 42 shots were fired. The Princely Couple had announced they would be breaking with tradition, so as not to make a difference between the twins.