AC Marriott

The Promenade des Anglais has a lot of interesting architecture and some rather imposing buildings. The AC Marriott Hotel does not initially appear to be one of the standout structures, but it has a distinctive feature, which is rather striking once you spot it.

Two 19 m tall bronze statues of a goddess stand in niches running the full height of either end of the 28 m tall building.

Some say the sculptures are based on Juno, the Roman goddess of women, marriage and childbirth. Others say they actually represent the Greek goddess Hera, queen of the gods and goddess of marriage, family and women. Yet other sources refer to this work as "Venus", insinuating the sculptures are of the Roman goddess of love, beauty, desire, and fertility.

Either way, the sculptures are eye-catching, appearing to peek out from within a crevice in the walls of the hotel.

The imposing statues are the work of the artist Sasha Sosno.

Sosno was born Alexandre Joseph Sosnowsky to a Niçoise mother and an Estonian father. He spent time living in Latvia and Switzerland before coming to France.

Sosno's sculptures are characterised by empty or full spaces, a style which came to be known as "art of obliteration".

Between 1986 and 1988 he worked on a number of projects bringing together both sculptural and architectural elements, including the 1987 Hotel Elysée Palace, which was later rebranded as a Marriott.

Sosno is most famous for another work in Nice, Tête Carrée.