Villa Ile-de-France ou villa Ephrussi-de-Rothschild

English translation

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History

Property situated on the isthmus linking Cap Ferrat to the coast, acquired in 1905 by Béatrice de Rothschild (1859-1934), daughter of Alphonse de Rothschild, regent of the Bank of France, and wife of Maurice Ephrussi. Possessing an immense fortune, she had built, from 1911 to 1912 a villa of massed plan around a central covered patio. Rendered in pink and white render and testifying to Tuscan, Lombard, Venetian and Spanish influences, this Italian palazzo is essentially the work of its patron, but she called upon numerous architects, among them the Parisian Edouard Niermans. The Nice-born architect Aaron Messiah was ultimately the master of works for the project. The name given to the villa is that of a transatlantic liner on which Béatrice de Rothschild had travelled. The gardens of different styles (Spanish, Florentine, Japanese, exotic, English and Provençal) are attributed to landscape architects Achille Duchêne and Harold Peto. Bequeathed to the Academy of Fine Arts of the Institut de France in 1934, the villa was opened to the public in 1937. Some works were carried out there by the first curator, architect Albert Tournaire. The museum brings together the collections of works of art of Béatrice de Rothschild and her husband, from their Parisian and Monégasque properties. The villa is an exceptional testimony to the Belle Époque.