Prince Antoine I (1661-1731) was a patron of the arts who had received an excellent education and maintained an artistic, and more particularly musical, lifestyle in the Palace of Monaco. In fact, he led an orchestra, using the baton of the composer Lully.
At the same time, Antoine I was faced with the consequences of the Spanish War of Succession, which led him to renounce the lordship of La Turbie, which was granted by the king in 1705, in order to pay homage to the Duke of Savoy for the territories of Menton and Roquebrune, something which the Grimaldi had avoided doing since the beginning of the XVI century.
The independence of the Principality was even further undermined by fortification works, which were required because of the conflict and which put serious strain on the Prince’s finances, to such an extent that Antoine I, like Louis XIV before him, was obliged to use his personal fortune and to melt his silverware.
1661 - 1731
A larger Principality?