Place massena

The city of Nice is building a new tramway and the construction seems to have been going on for millennia. An exaggeration, of course, but there has been masses of disruption and for a long while it looked like there was little progress. This is now changing, at long last.

Place Massena had looked like a bomb site for several years while the tram rails and new paving were being laid .


The other night when i was coming home from the Old Town , I passed through the newly reopened square. It was absolutely breathtaking - the new lamps and paving looked quite magical. So i quickly took a few photos .

The buildings of Place Massena are a painted reddish terracotta colour and are in the 17th century Genoese style with arcades underneath. They were built in 1835.

The new paving and lighting really set them off, though its not easy to see in these night photos. I will try and take some daytime photos later in the week.
You can see some of the new tram rails on the right of the photo.

The Fontaine du Soleil [Sun Fountain] by the sculptor Janoit, from 1956 has been put back into pride of place in the square. I had forgotten what it looked like. It an impressive fountain, with several mythical beings and animals cavorting in the water. I haven't worked out who the beings are yet, maybe a closer look during daytime will help.


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