Chateau Grimaldi in Cagnes
One of the many Grimaldi Castles, the Cagnes Chateau Grimaldi is built on the site of an earlier fortress occupied by the Greeks and then the Romans. The castle, built upon a hill top around a triangular courtyard, towers over the town, and along with Renoir’s house is one of the best known landmarks in the area.
The present castle was built in 1309 by Rainier Grimaldi, a distant ancestor of the present ruling house of Monaco. During the during the reign of Louis XIII, the castle was altered and the principal rooms made more comfortable and redecorated in the contemporary taste, although because it was constructed in the local stone it retains many of its original medieval features and motifs. The great hall has a painted ceiling depicting the Fall of Phaeton, by Genois Carlone completed in 1621, while the chapel has a ceiling painted with folk scenes. Later it became the residence of the Governors of the province. Following the French Revolution it was used as a barracks and then a hospital.
Today the castle is an exhibition center for contemporary art from around the world, and a museum of modern art known as The Grimaldi Castle Museum.