Christian Estrosi, the son of Nice, today its Deputy Mayor, opens up his secret garden to us, that of his family, of his roots. He introduces us to his grandparents, hardworking, industrious, diligent. Coming from Italy to find employment in France, they integrated and succeeded socially through effort and toil. He talks about the roulette lottery at the Gare du Sud, the boats of Place Garibaldi where all the little boys of Nice have been captains. He loves his city and his book is above all a declaration of love for Nice.
The politician becomes a writer, and beautiful lines, full of poetry, describe the Bay of Angels, the hinterland, the hills, and the Alpine peaks. There is the school, the college, and the high school of Parc Impérial and some names: those of teachers like André Compan, who gave him a taste for history.
Line by line, this work is in a certain way dedicated to this historian of the County. Christian Estrosi speaks with simple and true words, those from the heart, about the former leaders of his city, of the history of this town where the heroine of the County, our Jeanne Hachette, emerged, who through her courage repelled the Turk in one Heroic day. Nice is engraved deep within his soul. His book is, in a certain way, a guide: that of this city bathed in sunlight and its surroundings. We discover the neighborhoods, the streets from his childhood, and wonderful places like the harbor of Villefranche and the Passable beach.
We climb to the high summits and there too, he delivers us paradisiacal places. Then there are: Bellet, La Sirole, all these villages and hamlets surrounding the capital of the Côte d’Azur. This work has been written with ‘his guts.’ It is true, there is no unnecessary embellishment. We note his modesty, that of not putting himself forward and recognizing that he is the torchbearer, the relay, the heir of his predecessors whom he honors: Jean Médecin and his son Jacques.
Nice is his land where he was born, his roots, and on every page, we feel his unyielding love for his hometown, beautiful Nice. The sportsman, motorcycle champion, politically engaged for his community and France. So many paths traveled since Avenue Saint Joseph, in fact, a narrow street where industrious craftsmen once crowded, but that is another era, a past not so distant that the author shares with us.
A book of memories of these popular neighborhoods where soul and spirit were true, an era, alas, bygone. To be read with passion by those who love Nice.
