« Nissa La Bella » takes over the gallery of the NICETOILE shopping center until September 5th. The opening on July 10th marks the beginning of a journey to the heart of the Belle Époque on the French Riviera. The exhibition allows visitors to rediscover characteristic places in the city of Nice. It symbolizes the convergence between historical culture and technology.
Nice Etoile hosts a historical exhibition blending culture and Nice’s heritage, with the opening reception held on the afternoon of Friday, July 10th. Many notable figures were present, including Patrick Nolier, the director of NICETOILE, Christophe Bremard, Simone Dibo-Cohen and deputy mayor Auguste Verola, all three elected officials at the Nice city hall.
During the opening, Cécile Verdoni, the head of the city’s art and history department, conducted a guided tour of the exhibition, discussing certain aspects of the history of the French Riviera. The documentary and scientific data result from contributions by the Heritage Centre, the Villa Massena and the Nice World Heritage Centre.
« Nissa La Bella » represents the cultural pride of the city of Nice, but also the fruit of a partnership between innovation and history.
An omnipresent historical past
This exhibition is an opportunity to discover photographs and archive illustrations of the city of Nice from yesteryear. It allows visitors to learn more with numerous audiovisual content, provided by the Tourism Office and the Heritage Centre of the city.
« You will find an exhibition retracing the entire European cultural history through the iconic places of Nice », declares Patrick Nolier. « Nissa La Bella » allows visitors to rediscover the heritage of the French Riviera city from a technical perspective. It also reveals the elegance of these unique architectures.
This exhibition offers an opportunity to understand the evolution of Nice’s emblematic places, notably Castle Hill, the famous Jean-Médecin Avenue or even Albert 1st Garden. It also gives spectators the chance to immerse themselves in the vanished Casino of the Jetée-Promenade, a legendary Nice building representative of the Belle Époque.
Spectators are not merely observers, as they have the opportunity to participate in creative workshops inspired by this era of progress and refinement. Calligraphy and the creation of vintage postcards will be highlighted.
The shopping center also wishes to pay tribute to the School of Nice in a window near the exhibition. Loaned by private collectors, works by Sosno, Ben, César and Armand are on display throughout the period.
The idea is to highlight Nice’s culture and heritage. « We are fortunate to be a shopping center with over 35,000 visitors per day. For many years, we have carried out operations to promote the various riches of the territory », affirms Patrick Nolier.
This exhibition provides a framework for understanding Nice’s status as a winter resort city of the Riviera, inscribed in 2021 on the UNESCO World Heritage list. The archives reveal the historical culture of tourism in this French Riviera city. « With the Mayor, Éric Ciotti, this exhibition is everything we love, everything we expect and everything we wish for our city », declares Christophe Bremard, a municipal advisor at Nice city hall.
An effective partnership
« Nissa La Bella » offers an augmented reality experience, allowing spectators to visit the Casino Jetée-Promenade as if they were there at the beginning of the 20th century.
A place of entertainment for the wealthy clientele of the French Riviera of old, this building symbolized modernity with cast iron and steel constructions. Perched on the water, Nazi soldiers destroyed the casino to recover the raw materials in 1944. The narrative journey reveals the birth and architectural references of this ghost of the Promenade.
With the assistance of HoloForge Interactive studio and Villa Masséna, image technology succeeds in reconstructing this monument. This gives an innovative dimension to culture and history. « Nice is a modern city, a city turned towards the future and this exhibition demonstrates that », confides Christophe Bremard.
However, these processes are costly for institutions. « This partnership allowed Villa Massena to continue developing this program that had already been implemented », assures Patrick Nolier. Cécile Verdoni adds that « thanks to the partnership with Nice Etoile, we are now able to advance this experience because we have new headsets. This is an opportunity for us to demonstrate the synergy that can exist between the different city departments. »
Nissa La Bella demonstrates that culture and innovation can complement each other. « This exhibition demonstrates everything we are capable of today offering », declares the elected official from Nice city hall.
This immersive technology makes scientific and cultural content more attractive and accessible to the general public. « Our objective is to renew the audience and reach it elsewhere. The 35,000 people per day make me dream because that is not the attendance rate of our establishments », admits Cécile Verdoni.
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