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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

Villa Les Palmiers is an imposing Nice residence built in the 1870s, inspired by the Italian Renaissance and neoclassicism. It is part of the Palladian trend, popular in England and the United States at that time. Since 1963, it has been home to the municipal archives of Nice and is nicknamed the Palace of Marble because of its marble coating of Carrara. Its park, rich in subtropical species, completes this remarkable architectural ensemble.

Originally, the estate belonged to the banker Honoré Gastaud, who developed in 1840 an exotic 23-hectare park, planted with daaraucarias, palm trees and cedars. This garden attracted personalities such as Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna in 1858 and Napoleon III in 1860, during the annexation of Nice County. In 1871 the British art merchant Ernest Gambart bought a large part of the estate and built the current villa, designed as a reception place and gallery for his protégés, including Rosa Bonheur.

After Gambart's death in 1902, the estate passed to the Russian Baron Alexander von Falz-Fein, who made changes before selling it to Édouard Soulas in 1924. The latter revived the interior in a neo-Louis XV style and entrusted the garden to Octave Godard. In the 1950s, the villa was used as a setting for films like Lola Montès by Max Ophüls. Threatened by destruction in 1956, it was saved by protective measures, and its park became a public space.

In 1960, Nice acquired the villa, which was transformed into a municipal archive in 1963. The park, preserved despite amputations for urban infrastructure, was included in the historical monuments inventory in 1993. Today, the villa and its garden, with their factories and decorative elements, bear witness to the architectural and landscape history of the Riviera.

Future

Since 1963, it has hosted the city's municipal archives service.

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