The area of today's Nice contains Terra Amata, an archaeological site which displays evidence of a very early use of fire 380,000 years ago. The city is nicknamed Nice la Belle ( Nissa La Bella in Niçard), meaning 'Nice the Beautiful', which is also the title of the unofficial anthem of Nice, written by Menica Rondelly in 1912. Nice's airport serves as a gateway to the region. Nice is approximately 13 kilometres (8 mi) from the principality of Monaco and 30 kilometres (19 mi) from the French–Italian border. Located on the French Riviera, the southeastern coast of France on the Mediterranean Sea, at the foot of the French Alps, Nice is the second-largest French city on the Mediterranean coast and second-largest city in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region after Marseille. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one million on an area of 744 km 2 (287 sq mi). Nice ( / n iː s/ NEESS, French pronunciation: ⓘ Niçard: Niça, classical norm, or Nissa, nonstandard, pronounced Italian: Nizza Ligurian: Nissa Ancient Greek: Νίκαια Latin: Nicaea) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. 1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km 2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.