Liberal Dictionary English Dictionary
noun
- a resort area along the Mediterranean coast, extending from Saint Tropez, in SE France, to La Spezia, in NW Italy.French Côte d’Azur.
- (often lowercase) any similar coastal resort area: the Florida riviera.
noun
- a coastal region reminiscent of the Riviera
noun
- the Mediterranean coastal region between Cannes, France, and La Spezia, Italy: contains some of Europe’s most popular resorts
Mediterranean seacoast around Genoa, 1630s, from Italian riviera, literally “bank, shore” (see river). In extended use, the coast from Marseilles to La Spezia, which became popular 19c. as a winter resort. Thence adopted (sometimes ironically) in reference to areas of other countries, e.g. American Riviera (Florida, 1887); English Riviera (Devonshire coast, 1882).
Narrow strip of land in southeastern France and northwestern Italy on the Mediterranean Sea, also including Monaco. Cannes, Monte Carlo, and Nice are three of its best-known towns and cities.