La Fiorentina Saint Jean Cap Ferrat

December 1, 2011 in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat - 1 Comment

[dropcap]L[/dropcap]a Fiorentina was built in 1917 by the countess Therese de Beauchamp on a vast
piece of land which occupies the extreme end of the Saint Hospice point of the Saint Jean Cap Ferrat
peninsula.

Villa Fiorentina

The daughter of the Count Giorigi Vitali who had 40 years earlier modified the Villa Fiorentina in
Cannes, the Countess Beauchamp addressed the architects Aaron and Gaston Messiah who
designed a large rectangular building surrounded by two large belvedere turrets.
The exterior of the building which forms the grand reception rooms, is made up of a large loggia of

arcades with views stretching to Italy.

As they were accustomed, the Messiah brothers worked in collaboration with Harold Peto who
authorized a part of the park which was made up of 22 hectares of pine trees which had been
damaged by the wind. He designed notably the large staircase from the villa leading to the waters
edge, along with the large ponds and orange tree areas.
Having an authoritative and voluble character, Therese de Beauchamp does not take a long time to
get angry with the workers, who are soon to be thanked and replaced by Ferdinand Bac, of whom
work she greatly admired at the villa Croisset in Grasse.

The writer/architect-landscape gardener imagined however, that to better distinguish the entrance, a
kind of monumental pillar enclosure with the latin inscription Fata regunt orbem which translates to
destiny rules the world, finally completes the gardens with several themes.
By the end of 1919, Bac visits the property to supervise the work and noted in his journal that the
plants and the grass had grown so much that the villa seemed to be placed on an emerald plate.
Soon tired of her new domain with the families coat of arms placed upon the gates, and baptized in
the memory of her father, the countess Beauchamp goes onto buy the Leopolda in Villefranche sur
Mer and lives there at the beginning of the 1920s.
She then sells the property to Sir Edmund Davis, a diamond magnet and a large art collector, who
constructed a large part of the littoral path which surrounds Cap Ferrat.
During this period, the famous Italian writer, Gabriele dAnnunzio stays in the property, just a short
time before he is proclaimed lord and prince of Monte-Nevoso. In 1939, La Fiorentina was purchased
by Lady Kenmere, who was sometimes viciously referred to as Lady Kilmore with reference to her
three ex husbands who had passed away. It was the son of her last husband Roderick Cameron, who
was passionate about landscaping and gardens, the man who opened the Golden Riviera, who took
upon the task to rearrange the domain with the help of the architect Henri Delmotte who had works a
few years earlier at the Villa Mauresque of Somerset Maugham. During the years of renovation, Rory
and his mother lived in the Clos de Fiorentina, which is an old bastide which was part of the domain. In
order to modernize the style of the building, the gold flaked ceilings, the sculpted stone chimneys were
simply removed for more of a stripped decor. Unfortunately, the declaration of the Second World War
stopped the renovation works and due to the strategic position of the property, it was occupied by the
Germans who made several degradations during this time. When the conflict was over, the works
began again and several large modifications were made to the original building. The temple marking
the entrance was removed along with the two belvedere turrets. The arcades loggia of the facade and
the immense reception room disappeared for two new floors, metamorphosing the building of a
palladien style mansion which immensely resembled the Rotunda de Vinence Villa in Italy. Finally the
gardens were redesigned by the landscape gardener Russel Page.

Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton in Villa Fiorentina

At La Fiorentina, Rory Cameron organized large parties and received many celebrities such as Greta
Garbo, Elizabeth Taylor, Somerset Maugham who loved to play bridge with the hostess. Even though
the park has been reduced to 30 000 m, the Villa Fiorentina with its two swimming pools, remains one
of the largest properties on Saint Jean Cap Ferrat.

Please note that this is an article written solely for the history of La Fionetina. This is not a real estate
listing. Here is a selection of villas for rent in Saint Jean Cap Ferrat.