Lifestyle

The Commune, Monaco’s oldest institution

In Monaco, the city and the State are one. The Commune of Monaco, established in the thirteenth century, is one of the Principality’s oldest institutions and has its own remit.

Historically, the Monegasque population, a colony of the Republic of Genoa, began to settle on the Rocher in the early thirteenth century, when the first Palace of Monaco was built in 1215, creating the first small town of Monaco. The community was represented by the heads of household, who followed a custom of meeting in parliament to debate their collective concerns. This assembly was soon consulted by Monaco’s nobility to inform their political decisions.