Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

Villa Torre Clementina is a luxurious residence built between 1904 and the first quarter of the 20th century on the town of Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, between Avenue Emératrice Eugénie and the coastal path. It was commissioned by Ernesta Stern, widow of banker Louis Stern and author of Venetian tales under the pseudonym of Maria Star. The architecture, entrusted to Lucien Hesse, is inspired by the Venetian-Byzantine Gothic, blending red brick, carved white stone and marble, while the gardens, designed by Rfaële Mainella, evoke Mediterranean romanticism with flowered stairs, fountains and gazebos.

The gardens of the villa, organized in three geometric parts integrated with the pine forest, form a route punctuated by architectural factories (theatre of greenery, ancient remains, water mirrors). The ensemble, described as a "anthem to romanticism", illustrates the Italianizing influence of Mainella, painter and landscaper from Bénévent. The villa, whose interior was inspired by orientalizing motifs, was also a filming place, notably for René Clément's film Les Félins (1964).

Listed as a historic monument on February 11, 1991, the Torre Clementina villa includes in its protection all interior decorations, gardens (with their paths, fountains and sculptures), as well as stone elements. However, this classification excludes the northern part of Empress-Eugenia Avenue. The building bears witness to the architectural eclecticism of the Belle Époque and the attractiveness of the European elites for the French Riviera at the beginning of the 20th century.

Cape Martin, divided into subdivisions as early as 1904, attracted an affluent clientele seeking to build sumptuous secondary residences. Ernesta Stern, through her Venetian origins and artistic networks, played a key role in designing a project combining neo-Gothic architecture and idealized Mediterranean landscapes. The villa thus embodies the dialogue between the European aesthetic currents of the period and the adaptation to the Provencal coastal site.

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