History: The history of Monaco...
by shiran_d
History: The history of Monaco is inseparable from that of the House of Grimaldi. Originally of Genoese extraction, the Grimaldis rose to prominence during the 12th century, when one member of the family became ambassador both to the court of the German Emperor Frederick II (Barbarossa) and to that of his Byzantine counterpart, Manuel Commenus. In the late 13th century, however, with the Holy Roman Empire riven with internal strife, the Grimaldi family was forced to take refuge in Provence. It was François Grimaldi who led a group of partisans into the fortress of Monaco in 1297, which has been ruled by the family ever since, the Grimaldis preserving their independence through a mixture of good luck and cunning diplomacy