It all began in 1911, at the height of the rivalry between two famous seaside towns: Nice and Monte-Carlo. The former organized its “carnival,” which attracted a rich clientele to its casinos, so Monaco decided to organize an automobile rally on the same lines as the celebrated Italian Cycle Rally (“convegni ciclisti”), with departure points in different European towns, converging on Monaco. This event was to take place in January, as a way of showing that the climate of the…