Place de St Devote

We have made it to the Place de Sainte Devote, which becomes an off-road region during the Grand Prix – this is where cars pull in if there is an accident or a problem or a red light is called. It’s a really exciting area with lots of energy and lots of exciting things happening - seats around here are pretty desirable. For the Grand Prix weekend, there is layers and layers of padding all around the cliff faces and chapel, as cars will pull in here at high speed and need a level of protection.

As I mentioned the building over there is a chapel dedicated to Sainte Devote who is the patron saint of Monaco. She originally comes from 4th century Corsica which was a Roman province at the time. At this time, the Romans were persecuting the Christians and converting them to their Roman faith – Devote was devoted to her religion and was subsequently arrested, imprisoned and tortured, yet never denied her faith. She was eventually executed and the order was given to burn her body, but some Christian rebels saved her and sent her body out on a boat headed to North Africa, where Christianity was accepted and she could receive a proper Christian burial. However, there was a big storm on the Mediterranean, in which the spirit of Devote appeared as a dove and led the boat to safe haven in Monaco, on the portside just behind. There are now numerous statues and pieces of art to remember this story; in the cliffs and the green spaces all around this small area.

The boat arrived on the 27th of January – obviously not this year but a while ago – so this has become a national holiday in Monaco. Now, every year on this day, a little boat arrives on the shore and greeted by the Prince of Monaco, at which point a white dove is released up into the air. There are fireworks, festivals and parades all around the country, on a day of no work and all celebration.