December 2003 / Jan 2004

The ever-growing principality of Monaco has been on a building craze for the last 50 years and has expanded its territory with land reclamation by 20 percent. It looks as if these happy builders are embarking on another 50 years of hard labour, as plans recently unveiled by the government reveal that the Principality has a dream: a dream of Trump-style towers around the elegant belle epoque Place du Casino . . . a mini Manhattan on the Med; an idea which has sent shudders through many residents, but as there is no Society for the Preservation of Historic Buildings in Monaco, there is no redress.