Monaco Artificial Lands

Our Series on Artificial Features takes us to Monaco, one of the smallest and most densely populated nations in the World.

The country of Monaco consists of a promontory into the Mediterranean Sea where the old town of Monaco and the Palace of the Prince are located, and a thin strip of land that runs for about 3km to the East of the "Rock". It is almost entirely built up. This has led the authorities to seek territorial extension over the sea, which has been accomplished in several phases started in the late 19th Century. In the first phase, a port was built in the 1880s. Then, the Larvotto extension, at the eastern end of the strip was added in the 1960. In the 1980s, the new development of Fontvieille, just West of the Rock, was gained on the sea. Finally, a new development, incomplete as of 2022, will allow the principality to gain another 6 hectares over the Mediterranean in the new neighbourhood of Le Portier.