Palais Princier de Monaco
When renovation works started in the courtyard of the Prince’s Palace of Monaco in 2014, restoration experts discovered antique decoration under crumbling layers of old paint. The resurfacing of these late-Renaissance frescos led to further examination of other parts of the castle and more scraping off paint inside the edifice – about 600 square meters in total.
The figurative key visual in this post depicts a minor character of the grand Ulysses fresco that adorns the ceiling of the throne room. It is part of a campaign held in 2022 when the freshly restored frescos were first presented to general public. This campaign and the general visual identity of the Prince’s Palace are the work of studio Guénola Six.
On the posters and in the logotype, there is a mix of two typefaces. “Palais de Monaco” (or “Palais Princier”, respectively) is typeset in capitals from Mars Wide, designed by Alaric Garnier and released by Production Type. The remaining parts show Neue Haas Unica, a revival made by Toshi Omagari at Linotype. The same strategy reappears in the brochure where Mars serves for the headlines and Neue Haas Unica for the reading text.
While Neue Haas Unica can be described as a calm sans-serif of narrow proportions available in a wide range of weights, Mars is exactly the opposite: it deliberately comes in only one weight and three widths (Condensed, Standard, Extended) and calls for attention as much as for clear decisions.
