Baronne de Rothschild's delusions of grandeur

Was this gorgeous villa in the middle of an oasis of greenery created by an Italian prince, or a Russian billionaire? No at all... It was raised (on a 7 hectares estate overlooking the Estérel) between 1905 and 1912 by baroness Béatrice Ephrussi de Rothschild, famous banker's daughter...

15 architects created this house, with a pink patio flanked by a Gothic loggia.

Our baroness wanted to put here her huge paintings collection. But more than the house, she wanted luxuriant gardens... Oh, it was such a beautiful house... but the baroness came few months only, overwhelmed by her husband's death.

Then the villa was left to the Fine-Arts Academy when baroness died in 1934: the estate was opened to the public in 1937.