In 1905 Baroness Béatrice de Rothschild acquired seven hectares of land on the narrowest part of the peninsula of San Jean Cap Ferrat to build her dream home, Villa Île~de~France. Today, the villa is called Villa Ephrussi Rothschild and it stands as the epitome of a lavish life in the Belle Epoqe {Beautiful era} overlooking the bay of Villafranche~sur~Mer on one side

and the Baie de Fourni and Beaulieu~sur~Mer to the other.

Madame Ephrussi bought the land in 1905 and it took 7 years to construct this Italian Renaissance inspired mansion and lay out the extensive gardens. To begin, they had to dynamite the existing rock and then bring in soil to smooth the surface and prepare for plantings and foundations.

She was very involved in every stage of creating this exquisite mansion and quite selective about who should design it, finally architect Jacque~Marcel Auburtin met her criteria.

The villa is surrounded by nine themed gardens: a formal French garden, Spanish garden, Florentine garden, stone garden, Japanese garden, exotic garden, Provençal garden and rose garden. Beatrice was most focused on the formal French garden and some of the gardens were created after she passed.

“Designing her garden like the bow of a ship, Béatrice de Rothschild had mirrors several centimeters thick installed. at the top of the hill, near Tempietto, in order to reflect the sea and give the illusion that it was floating” ~VER website

Enticing water features can be found throughout the property. This waterway that leads to the grotto with the white trumpet flowers is my very favorite.

Béatrice gifted the gardens to the Academy of Beaux Arts in 1934 in memory of her father Alphonse, who was a member of the Academy.

In addition to the existing furnishings {which included some important pieces from Versailles that she acquired after the French Revolution} she consolidated her possessions from her Villas Soleil and Rose de France in Monte~Carlo, her hotel at 19 avenue Foch in Paris so the villa includes more that 5,000 works of art and fine furniture.

The villa was opened to the public in 1937. Each room reflects her eclectic tastes, and her passion for fine furnishings and arts.

Ever elegant, she liked to dress in 18th century inspired clothing and was known to tie a matching bow in her hair. Her preferred designer was Jacques Prucet who also designed for many of the leading actresses of the era on and off the stage including Sarah Bernhardt.

Since 1993 the Villa and the gardens have been classified as Historic Monuments.

She was a great supporter of artists and very charitible. She was known for her lavish parties featuring musicians of the era and would at times arrive to the scene in this carriage.

The collection of porcelain from Meissen, Vincennes and Sèvres is extensive and so beautiful.