THE HOUSES OF THE ROTHSCHILDS - [6] - VILLA EPHRUSSI DE ROTHSCHILD

Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild - built on the narrowest part of the Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat promontory, this sumptuous palazzo, one of the finest listed buildings on the French Riviera, has views over the Bay of Villefranche on one side and the Bay of Beaulieu on the other. It was in 1905 that Baroness Ephrussi de Rothschild chose this spot to build her personal "folly" inspired by the great Renaissance palaces of Venice and Florence. On her death in 1934, the Baroness charitably gifted the property and its collections to the Académie des Beaux Arts division of the Institut de France and it is now open to public visitation. The Villa is set among nine magnificent themed gardens. each on a different theme: Florentine, Spanish, Garden à la française, exotic, a stone garden, a Japanese garden, a rose garden and a garden de Sèvres. They were created between 1905 and 1912 under the direction of landscape architect Achille Duchêne..

The garden was conceived in the form of a ship, to be viewed from the loggia of the house, which was like the bridge of a vessel, with the sea visible on all sides. It was inspired by voyage she made on the liner 'Île de France, and the villa was given that name. The thirty gardeners who maintained the garden were dressed as sailors, with berets with red pom poms.

The Garden à la française is the largest garden, and occupies the area behind the villa. Next to the villa is a terrace with a formal French garden and topiaries. Beyond the terrace is a park with palm trees and a long basin, ornamented with fountains, statues, and basins with water lilies and other aquatic plants. On the far end of the park is a hill covered with cypress trees, surrounding a replica garden of the temple of Love at the Grand Trianon palace. The slope below temple has a cascade of water in the form of a stairway, which feeds into the large basin.

A stairway from the French garden descends to the circle of gardens on the lower level. The Spanish garden features a shaded courtyard and fountain, with aromatic plants, Catalan amphorae, and a gallo-roman bench.

The Florentine garden, facing the rade of Villefranche, has a grand stairway, an artificial grotto, and an ephebe of marble. Beyond the Florentine garden is the lapidary, or stone garden, with an assortment of gargoyles, columns, and other architectural elements from ancient and medieval buildings. the Japanese garden has a wooden pavilion, a bridge, and lanterns. The exotic garden features giant cactus and other rare plants.

A rose garden with a statue surrounded by columns adjoins it, with pink, the favorite color of the owner, the predominant color. On the east side of the villa is a garden of native plants of Provence and a garden with decorations of sevres porcelain.

Today, Villa Ephrussi is the only great house open to the public on the Riviera to give some idea of the magnificent summer residences built by the very wealthy during the Belle Epoque. A particularly enjoyable lunch or afternoon tea is served in the conservatory (all seasons) and adjacent garden (summer months).

The villa is now the location of the annual summer opera festival, Opera Azuriales.