Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild, Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat

Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild, also known as Villa Île-de-France, is a French villa located at the seaside of Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, on the French Riviera.

The Villa, commissioned by the Baroness Béatrice de Rothschild (1864–1934), was designed by the French architect Aaron Messiah and built between 1905 and 1912 on a promontory on the isthmus of Cap Ferrat, overlooking the Mediterranean Sea.

Member of the Rothschild banking family and wife of the Russian banker Baron Maurice de Ephrussi, Béatrice de Rothschild filled the mansion with antique furniture, Old Master paintings, sculptures and other works of art, and gathered an extensive collection of rare porcelain.

According to the Baroness' will, after her death in 1934 the property and its collections were donated to the Académie des Beaux Arts, division of the Institut de France.

In 1996 the villa was classified as a historical monument. It is now open to the public. 

The Gardens:

The gardens of the Villa are classified by the French Ministry of Culture as one of the Notable Gardens of France.

The Villa is surrounded by nine gardens, each dedicated to a different theme: Florentine, Spanish, Japanese, à la française, Provençal, exotic, a stone 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 gardens was conceived with the shape of a ship, so that from the loggia of the house, which represents the bridge of the vessel, the sea is visible from all sides. This was inspired by a journey the Baroness Béatrice made on the cruise ship, whose name, Île de France, was given to the Villa. The thirty gardeners who worked theret had to dress as sailors, wearing berets with the typical red pom poms.

The garden à la française is the largest one and occupies the area behind the mansion. Next to it, is a terrace with a formal French garden and topiaries. Beyond the terrace is a park with palm trees and a long basin, decorated with fountains, statues, and other basins with water lilies and other aquatic plants.

On the far end of the park is a hill with cypress trees, surrounding a garden on the model of Grand Trianon Palace's temple of Love. The slope below the temple has a water cascade in the form of a stairway, which feeds the large basin.

A stairway from the French garden leads to the circle of gardens on the lower level. The Spanish garden presents a shaded courtyard, a fountain, aromatic plants, Catalan amphorae and a Gallo-Roman bench.

In the Florentine garden, facing the harbour of Villefranche, are a great stairway, an artificial grotto, and a marble ephebe.

Beyond the Florentine garden is the lapidary, or stone garden, with a large variety of gargoyles, columns, and other architectural elements from ancient and medieval buildings.

The Japanese garden has a wooden pavilion, with a bridge and lanterns. The exotic garden houses giant cacti and other rare plants. Beside it, there is the rose garden with a statue surrounded by pink columns, as pink was the Baroness' favorite colour.

On the east side of the Villa is a garden of Provençal plants and another with decorations made of Sèvres porcelain.

Events:

On the 18th and 19th of October, a special visit to Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild is organised in three different parts. Visitors will have the chance to live one hour in costume with an actress, in the luxurious atmosphere of the Belle Époque, and to visit the gardens of the Villa guided by the head gardener. Also a special treasure hunt is organised for children and adults to discover the art collections the property has to offer.

Every year in June, Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild features Painters’ Day. The property opens its doors to the artists who want to find inspiration and create their works in one of its nine gardens.

Another important event organised in the Villa is the annual summer opera festival "Opéra Azuriales".

For more information visit http://villa-ephrussi.com/en/home