A vehement proponent of nationalism and persistent patriot, Garibaldi was the most illustrious warrior and leader of the national fight for establishing a unified Italy in the 19th Century, called Risorgimento. He served as a head of the Red Shirts, a unit of volunteer soldiers. Over the course of his entire career, Garibaldi proved himself a dedicated lover of liberty, opponent of abuse and hater of oppression, be it political, governmental, religious or any other kind. He gained fame as a talented guerrilla fighter and, in acknowledgement of his martial exploits in South America as well as in Europe, he was named the Hero of Two Worlds. The leader's popularity along with his military feats and ability to excite the crowds contributed greatly to the unification of Italy.

It is my fourth winter in this place, my seventh on this coast: that is the way my health wants it, for it is stupid as well as demanding, ready to make mischief as soon as the occasioning circumstances pile up. Nice and the Engadine: that is the circle dance this old nag cannot escape... To be sure, there can be no more beautiful season in Nice than the current one: the sky blindingly white, the sea tropical blue, and in the night a moonlight that makes the gas lanterns feel ashamed, for they flush red.

While his work was grossly disregarded during his lifetime, today Nietzsche is considered one of the most influential philosophers ever, and certainly the most important to come out of Germany. His importance lies in being a predecessor to 20th-Century Post-modernism and Existentialism. Nietzsche was also a cultural critic, psychologist and philologist. He stands out among other philosophers before and after him as one who developed an exceptionally strong prose style, as is evident in his principal book, 'Thus Spoke Zarathustra' (1883-85). Nietzsche's first book was titled 'The Birth of Tragedy' (1872). 'The Will to Power' (1901) made him famous, and 'Ecce Homo', his autobiographical piece, appeared in 1989. In his texts, he expressed criticism toward Christianity, Utilitarianism, German Idealism and Romanticism.

Fitzgerald's literary work consists of novels, short stories and essays. Due to the fact that his private and professional life paralleled the era in which he was active, he’ll always be associated with the Roaring 20s and the Great Depression of the 1930s in the United States. Following the success of his first novel, 'This Side of Paradise' (1920), which gave him overnight fame, Fitzgerald published 'The Beautiful and the Damned' (1922) and 'The Great Gatsby' (1925). He was heralded as the voice of his generation. To his writing credit are also approximately 160 short stories, among which some deserve to be called true gems of the genre, like 'Bernice Bobs Her Hair', 'May Day', 'The Diamond as Big as the Ritz', 'Winter Dreams', 'The Rich Boy', 'Babylon Revisited' and 'Crazy Sunday'.

It's wonderful here in Nice; the weather is amazing. After Yalta, the climate and terrain here make it seem like heaven. I bought a summer coat and parade around like a peacock.

He was a renowned Russian playwright, the author of such classic theatre pieces as 'The Seagull' (1896), 'Uncle Vanya' (1900), 'The Three Sisters' (1901) and 'The Cherry Orchard' (1904). Though it is for his plays that he’s most famous, critics tend to regard Chekhov's short stories as an even more important literary accomplishment. He revolutionized the form and, as productive a writer as he was, authored several hundred short stories, among which can be found a quantity of true masterworks of the genre, such as 'Neighbours' (1892), 'Ward Number Six' (1892) and 'The Murder' (1895). Chekhov is thought to be perhaps the leading modern author of the short story.

Jean Cocteau was a talented French poet, novelist, dramatist, designer, painter and film director – truly an artist of many talents, popular for his unconventional approach. Although born in Maison-Laffitte near Paris, he made himself known as a true admirer of the French Riviera. He left home at the age of fifteen, and in 1907 he went to Cap-Martin, where he was presented to the 80-year-old Empress Eugénie, who lived there. Cocteau's first volume of poems, 'Aladdin's Lamp', was published when he was nineteen. Later, in literary circles he gained the nickname of The Frivolous Prince, which was a title of his volume. In 1918, he got to know Raymond Radiguet, a 15-year-old poet, for whom Cocteau became a mentor and, presumably, a lover. Raymond's death in 1923 made Cocteau depressed and led him to opium addiction. From the end of World War I on, he was an active participant in the artistic and fashionable events on the French Riviera, including Nice. His diversified talents led him to take an interest in an abandoned chapel (St. Peter's) in the port of Villefranche-sur-Mer. His film 'The Testament of Orpheus' (1960) was realised in Nice, in the studios de la Victorine. Cocteau's most famous works are the play 'Les Enfants Terribles' (1929) and the films 'Beauty and the Beast' (1946) and 'The Storm Within' (1948).

This American celebrity introduced a unique style of dancing which earned her the title of the Mother of Modern Dance. Born to a poor family in San Francisco as Dora Angela Duncanon, she dropped out of school and gave dance lessons to local children. In the 1890s, Isadora performed on the stages of New York. In 1897, she travelled to the UK as a member of Daly's Company. While in London, she also took ballet lessons. She settled in Paris in 1900, where she opened her dance school. Duncan shocked the public by performing barefoot, dressed in long robes resembling ancient Greek costumes. In 1922, she married the Russian poet Sergei Yesenin, 18 years her junior, however the marriage wasn't happy and they split a year later. Duncan had two children with two different men, Gordon Craig and Paris Singer. Both died in an accident on the Seine River in 1913. Isadora spent her final years travelling between Paris and the Mediterranean. She died in a car accident in Nice. That fatal night, she was wearing a long silk scarf that got caught in the rear wheel of her car.

Raoul Dufy was a French painter and a representative of Fauvism, an artistic movement otherwise known as The Wild Beasts' from France. He was born in Le Havre to a large family, dropped out of school at the age of 14 and started to work in a coffee-importing company. From 1895, Dufy attended evening art classes at Le Havre École des Beaux-Arts. In 1900, he received a scholarship from École Nationale des Beaux-Arts in Paris and moved to the capital to further develop his talent. Two years later, he got a chance to present his work at Berthe Weill's gallery. Influenced by the major Impressionists as well as Henri Matisse, in his own works he also used bright colours and bold contours. Around 1909, Dufy adopted a new more subtle technique only to begin to experiment with Cubism in the next decade. He often depicted the French Riviera in his paintings, such as 'The Boats of Martigues' (1907), 'Baie des Anges' (1926) and 'Open Window at Nice' (1928). He was also an illustrator and a designer. Dufy died near Forcalquier, and like Matisse, he is buried in the Cimiez Monastery Cemetery, in the suburbs of Nice.

The Duke of Rivoli and Prince of Essling, Masséna gained renown as one of Napoleon's most talented army commanders. He was born in Nice, which belonged to the Kingdom of Sardinia at the time. When he turned 13, he became a cabin boy and spent the next four years on a merchant ship. Upon his return to Nice, Masséna joined the French Army in the Royal Italian regiment. By 1792, he had risen to the rank of a colonel. In the same year, the Revolutionary Wars broke out and Nice was occupied. Masséna's battalion volunteered and was incorporated into the French Armée d'Italie. His victories include the battles of Saorgio in August 1794 and Lonato in August 1795, where together with Napoleon he fought against the Austrian army. It wasn't until 1804 that Napoleon promoted Masséna to the rank of Marshall of France. Given control of operations against the Kingdom of Naples, he misused his powers by allowing looting and massacres. He gained, however, his ducal victory title in 1808. Two years later, he led the troops invading Portugal, but the campaign failed. Nevertheless, Masséna's brilliant military career could be compared to only a few other commanders in European history.