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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The villa Beau Site, located 17 rue du Mont-Boron in Nice, is built in the last quarter of the 19th century. Originally, it is a square villa acquired in 1882 by Eugène Vidis, a Nice merchant, who adds a corner tower. In 1885, it was purchased by British merchant Achille Larrey, who gave it its current name and ordered major expansions to architect Sébastien-Marcel Biasini in 1890. These works include a side wing decorated with Corinthian columns, an arcade lookout on the tower, as well as statues and balustrades, giving it a neoclassical style sometimes called a neo-pumpian.

Between 1890 and 1910, the widow of Achilles Larrey expanded the estate by adding an isba troglodyte named "Les Rochers" and a building for the servants, "Hyacinthe". The villa then changed hands several times: acquired in the 1920s by diamondmaker Lewis Lindon, then sold in 1948 to Gisèle Tissier. When she died in 1988, she left the property to the Institut de France, on condition that she created a cultural foundation. After legal disputes, the villa was sold in 2005 to a German private individual, who undertook renovations.

Classified as a historical monument on 27 July 1987 for its facades, roofs, interior decorations and factories (including the villas Les Rochers and Hyacinthe), Beau Site illustrates the architectural heritage of the Riviera. In 1987, the band The Cure shot Catch's video. Today, it is privately owned and is the subject of a restoration led by the architect Philippe Mialon of Nice, under the control of the Bâtiments de France. Its panorama of the bay of Nice and its decorative elements make it a remarkable testimony to the architectural eclecticism of the late 19th century.

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