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Charlotte-Béatrice (1864-1934), the daughter of Baron Alphonse de Rothschild, grew up in Château de Ferrière, an enormous mansion with vaste woodlands about 26 kms east of Paris. During her childhood she was surrounded by her father's fabulous and massive art collection and most certainly inherited her father's trait as an avid collector.

When she was 19, the family moved to Provence and it was there that she discovered her two passions in life. The first was Maurice Ephrussi, a banker, whom she married in 1883, and the second was architecture.

In 1905 she found and bought a plot of terraced land on Cap-Ferrat, some 7 hectares in all, where she decided to build her dream home. In order to achieve a flat garden and spectacular views across the Bay of Beaulieu and Villefranche harbour, she had most of the hill dynamited. It is said that rocks removed from this work went to enlarge the port of St Jean. In fact so much land was laid bare that it became necessary to haul in numerous cartloads of topsoil to enable the planting of the diversity of plants Charlotte-Béatrice had set her heart on.

She was extremely hard to please and when not satisfied with any building work, would have it pulled down and redone. Such was her exacting nature that she went through nine consecutive architects (some reports say it was as many as fifteen). The villa was finally finished in 1912.

She called it “Ile de France”, a reference to the steamship upon which she enjoyed numerous cruises. Today it is better known as Villa Ephrussi de Rotheschild. In fact the property was much designed along the lines of a ship with the front of the villa having a large stretch of land suggesting a gigantic bridge. Slightly eccentric, whenever she walked out onto her balcony or showed guests around her garden, she'd have six of her gardeners dressed up as sailors . . .

Inside Ile de France
Her palazzino was a succession of richly decorated salons and private apartments; the atmosphere recalling Florence, Ravenna and Venice, with rose marble columns from Verona and a touch of Spain with patios. The villa was adorned with artwork ranging from the late Middle Ages to the early Renaissance, as well as paintings by Renoir, Sisley and Monet. Flemish tapestries and 16th and 17th century furniture further embellished the villa. As money was no problem she'd try, whenever possible, to purchase the object of her desire. However if that failed she'd then have it replicated, as was the case of the stairway leading up to her bedroom (repositioned now for show on the ground floor), which is an exact copy of the staircase in the Saint-Maclou Cathedral in Rouen.

Many grand fêtes and balls were held in these sumptuous rooms with such dignitaries as the Prince of Monaco, the Duke of Eboli Doria of Naples, the Princess Ghika, the Count and Countess of Brémond d'Ars, the Grand-ducs of Russia. The rooms were stunning: the Salon Louis XV with its great Aubusson carpet; the Salon Fragonard with its 18th century antiques and paintings by Honoré Fragonard; the Salon des Singeries, where Huet’s paintings of monkeys replaced the chinoiseries so fashionalbe at the time; the Salon des Tapisseries with its Jacob furnishings and rare commodes; and the Salon d’Art d’Etrême-Orient with its gold and lacquered doors from the Imperial Palace of Peking and other treasures from the Far East.

The former apartments of Monsieur Ephrussi now contain one of the finest collections of porcelain in the world, including rare pieces from la Manufacture de Sèvres and that of Vincennes. In another room, connoisseurs will appreciate Dresden china and delicate porcelain items from Berlin, Würtzbourg and Meissen, most of them still set on their original plinths.

If she was exacting with the villa, Charlotte-Béatrice was equally so with the layout and planting of her gardens, calling in several renowned landscape gardeners, such as Richard Wallace, Aaron Messiah and Achille Duchêne, until she was satisfied with the layout. When palm trees were required as part of the overall design, she depleted the entire stock belonging to Hickel Frères, a German horticulturist established in Beaulieu. Such were the weight and size of these trees (thirty in all) that they required the harnessing of six horses to deliver each one.

Her plan was to create a three-dimentional Italian-Florentine garden so that from any point of her villa or bedroom balcony she'd be able to see the stunning views of Villefranche and St Jean harbours through the different "layers" of garden. She also created a pretty English rose garden, as well as having an exact replica of the Trianon in Versailles and its beautiful Temple of Love positioned at the far end of the park.

After spending so much time, money and effort creating this remarkable place, it is sad to learn she spent little time there, preferring the roulette tables of Monte-Carlo and her home "Villa Rose de France" or her suite at the Hôtel de Paris located next door to the casino; upon the death of her husband in 1916 she finally lost all interest in the villa. She died in 1934 at the age of 75, bequeathing it to the Académie des Beaux-Arts, a section of the Institut de France, on condition that the villa would remain intact and left as it was during her lifetime.

However, her garden was abandoned for many years and left to its own devices, until Louis Marchand, a landscape gardener, took it over and rethought the entire domain. Regardless of what many guide books might say, we actually owe the implantation of the French garden in front of the villa to him, as well as the prolongation and broadening of the canal towards the Temple of Love and the creation of the Spanish, Lapidary, Japanese and Exotic gardens.

The Gardens
Upon arrival most visitors begin with the Spanish garden with its secluded alcove, ornamental pond and pergola, then follow the signs that lead on to the other gardens: the cyprus tree-lined Florentine alley with its gorgeous horseshoe staircase overlooking the inlet at Villefranche-sur-Mer, the mysterious lapidary with its arches and sculpted rocks; the harmony of the Japanese garden with its raked sand and stone garden, pagoda and small pond filled with koi. From there you're pass through a magnificent bamboo garden with some of the tallest bamboo I have ever seen which act like a tunnel before entering the villa's rose garden.

Here you'll find over a hundred different varieties of rose bushes as well as wonderful views across the bay. As a byline, looking towards the bay of Villefranche you can't help but notice the stunning varnished green tiled roofs of a superb Italian style villa. They belong to Villa Sylvia which was built by the American Ralph Curtis in 1902. Turning round and facing the rose garden once more you'll find a pathway leads you gently up towards a very beautiful temple, then takes you through the exotic garden overflowing with magnificent cacti and impressive succulants. Following the signs you come to another temple: the famous Temple of Love with its charming cascading waterfall.

From this viewpoint you have the whole of the French gardens stretching out before you. The long ornamental pond draws your eye naturally towards the magical dancing waterfountains at the end of the pond and to the pink facade of Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild beyond.

It is a breathtaking endeavour and now meticulously looked after and, as one would expect, discreetly featured in a few films: Retour de Manivelle in 1957 directed by Denys de La Patellière with Michèle Morgan and Daniel Gélin; Lady L directed by Peter Ustinov in 1965 with David Niven, Paul Newman and Sophia Loren: and the James Bond film Never say Never directed by Irvin Kershner in 1983 and starring Sean Connery.

As a final byline, while today this beautiful villa is painted a dark pink, it was originally a gorgeous deep yellow ochre; have a look again at the delightful comedy Lady L . . .

Contact details

Villa & Jardins Ephrussi de Rothschild
06230 Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat.
Tel: +33 (0)4 93 01 33 09
Fax: +33 (0)4 93 01 31 10

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Website

Admission costs: €9.50 or €14.50 for a combined Ephrussi de Rothschild Villa & Kerylos Villa ticket.
Children under 7 go free and there are special offers for families.