10. The Rothschild family is a European family of
German Jewish origin that established European
banking and finance houses from the late
eighteenth century.
Between the port and the mainland in St Jean
cap de ferrat near Nice, the floridly beautiful
Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild bears witness to
the wealth and worldly flair of the baroness who
built it, Baroness Betrice de Rothschild – and
she certainly put this villa firmly on the map
with her outrageous and controversial style.
14. When you have a spectacular site of 7 hectares
(17 acres) in the Mediterranean, the means of a
millionaire and the mind of a true aesthete how
could you possibly settle for one garden?
Baroness Béatrice Ephrussi de Rothschild had
travelled extensively and seen different kinds of
gardens around the world. So she set her mind on
creating all her favourite gardens to complement
the dream palace she built on the peninsula of
Cap Ferrat about 10 kilometres to the east of
Nice.
18. Precious artworks, tapestries, and
furniture adorn the salons—in
typical Rothschildian fashion,
each is given over to a different
18th-century “époque.” Upstairs
are the private apartments of
Madame la Baronne, which can
only be seen on a guided tour
offered around noon.