One of the most splendid villas in French Riviera is undoubtedly the Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild. This seaside palace is located at Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat overlooking the Mediterranean. It was built between 1907 and 1912, during “belle époque” by Baroness Béatrice de Rothschild (1864–1934), member of the wealthy Rothschild banking dynasty and wife of Maurice Éphrussi. Béatrice inherited immense fortune in 1905 after her father’s death. That same year, she decided to construct her dream home in Cap Ferrat. When she first discovered this plot of land, she was immediately seduced by the beauty of the surroundings. When she learned of the sale of the terrain and that the Belgian King, Léopold II, was also interested in it, she purchased it without hesitation. It took five years of titanic work (1907-1912) to build the villa, inspired by Italian Renaissance architecture, and to lay out the gardens. Surrounded by seven magnificent themed gardens and a rose garden, the Villa overlooks the bay of Villefranche-sur-Mer on one side and the bay of Beaulieu on the other. Béatrice de Rothschild conceived her garden as the bow of a ship and had several mirrors of different thicknesses placed at the top of the hill, near the Tempietto, to reflect the sea and give the illusion that the Tempietto was floating. The Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild, a total creation of its founder’s imagination, arouses wonder, admiration and curiosity. The Villa and its gardens have been listed as Historic Monuments since 1993. #summer2025 #capferrat #verytroubledchild