Menton

Menton (French: [mɑ̃tɔ̃]; Occitan: Menton in classical norm or Mentan in Mistralian norm, pronounced [menˈta], locally [mɛ(n)ˈtã]; Italian: Mentone [menˈtoːne]; Ligurian: Menton or Mentun depending on the orthography) is a resort town and commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region on the French Riviera, close to the Italian border. Menton has always been a frontier town. Since the end of the 14th century, it has been on the border between the County of Nice, held by the Duke of Savoy, and the Republic of Genoa. It was an exclave of the Principality of Monaco until the disputed French plebiscite of 1860 when it was added to France. It had been always a fashionable tourist centre with grand mansions and gardens. Its temperate Mediterranean climate is especially favourable to the citrus industry, with which it is strongly identified.