JULIAN HALE'S "THE FRENCH RIVIERA" HAS THE BEST HISTORIES OF THE GRIMALDI FAMILY I'VE READ

THE FRENCH RIVIERA - A Cultural History by Julian Hale

is C 2009 by the author and published by Oxford University Press.

 

This book focuses on the development of a stretch of France that butts up against Italy, just about where Monaco is, beginning with the ancient history of first the Greeks and then the Romans, who built towns, monuments, forts, and even a fish farm, but maybe most important roads.  The steep and unstable precipices in the area certainly gave the Romans, the great road builds, many challenges.  By the 1730's the carriage road was still a rocky ride but had been built between Monaco and Menton.  The Grimaldi family had lost some of their property and then regained it. 

The Grimaldi ethnic heritage includes both French and Italian ancestors.  And as the author explains "The Grimaldi family have been big players in the South of France and what is now Italy from Genoa to Naples for the past nine centuries.  They are the longest serving reigning dynasty in Europe (and probably the world.) (Page 33)

From the official family website you will note "the Grimaldi's emerged from the Crusades as one of the four major ruling families of the Genoese urban nobility, especially warriors, ship owners, and bankers."  (Some things never change!)