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Origin and history

The villa Arnaga was built between 1903 and 1906 in Cambo-les-Bains (Pyrénées-Atlantiques) by the writer Edmond Rostand, then 32 years old and convalescent of a pleurisy. Acquised after his election to the French Academy (1901), this residence was conceived as a "poem of stone and greenery", combining architectural styles (neobasque, English, Chinese) and theatrical settings. Rostand wrote Chantecler and held sumptuous receptions there, swallowing up his copyright.

The estate, designed by Rostand himself, extends over 15 hectares of French and English gardens, decorated with pavilions, basins and an orangery inspired by Schönbrunn (Austria). To quickly create shades, Rostand had century-old tadpole oaks transplanted from the forest of Saint-Pée. The villa, originally equipped with electricity and central heating, illustrates the beauty of the Belle Époque.

After Rostand's death in 1918, the villa was sold and its furniture dispersed, including lacquered panels from Coromandel. Repurchased in 1960 by the municipality, it became the Edmond-Rostand museum, labeled Musée de France. Gérard Depardieu offered his 1991 Caesar for Cyrano de Bergerac. Ranked a historic monument in 1995, the villa and its gardens (remarkable Garden Label) today bear witness to Rostand's artistic and landscape heritage.

The architecture, signed Joseph-Albert Tournaire, marks the emergence of the neo-Basque style in France. Rostand collaborated with the painter Gaston La Touche for interior decorations, where each piece adopts a distinct style (Empire, Louis XVI, etc.). A plaque at the entrance carries a quatrain from Rostand, later taken from the castle of Dampierre-sur-Boutonne. The park, renovated in 2014, retains its Poetry Corner and its canal leading to a Vienna inspired portico.

The villa Arnaga also symbolizes Rostand's financial excesses: the gruesome festivals, in which composer Jules Massenet participated, led him to ruin. Despite this, the site remains a tribute to its creative genius, combining literature, architecture and landscape. The museum now exhibits personal objects, manuscripts and elements of original decorations, plunging visitors into the intimate and flamboyant world of the author.

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