Monaco is one of those very rare countries that have an exact date of birth, like a person. Monaco’s birthday is January 8, 1297. On that day, a Genoese nobleman, Francesco Grimaldi, aptly nicknamed Malizia (“The Sly One”), seized a fortress sitting on top of the Rock of Monaco, a huge solid monolith, jutting into the Mediterranean from the coast in southern France. Malizia and his men knocked on the gates of the fortress disguised as Franciscan monks, asking for shelter. (“A monk” is “un monaco” in Italian. No connection to the name of the Rock and, later, the country, but it’s a hell of a coincidence, don’t you think?!) Once inside, Grimaldi’s men drew swords from under their cloaks, killed the guards, and seized the stronghold. Thus was born the country of Monaco, which has been its own principality under the rule of the Grimaldis (with several brief interruptions due to foreign invasions) ever since – for more than 700 years. This makes it one of the oldest countries in Europe, run by THE oldest continuously ruling royal family.
How did they manage to survive so long? In a sly and cunning way, fully living up to their founder’s nickname. The Grimaldis were very shrewd politicians, always knowing how to play their much more formidable neighbours against each other, and always ready to marry strategically. They were even prepared to pass the throne to an heir from the female line, provided that the heir changed his last name to Grimaldi (if there were no direct male descendants) – not a common practice in those days, when the throne was usually passed to the foreign husband of a daughter, effectively terminating the family line. But even with all this cunning, the Grimaldis managed to keep only 5% of their original territory, making it now the second smallest sovereign country in the world after Vatican City. With an area of just 2 km², the whole of Monaco could fit inside New York City’s Central Park, with room to spare.