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Origin and history

The Palace of York, originally called Hotel Spitalieri de Cessole, was built between 1762 and 1768 on land acquired by Honoré François Spitalieri, a niçois merchant from a family enriched in commerce since the 16th century. This land, located in Place Saint-Dominique (now Place du Palais), once belonged to the Cistercian monastery of Saint-Étienne. Spitalieri, who became 2nd consul of Nice in 1755 and 1762, had this palace built to affirm its social status, while investing in real estate, a common practice among the Nice bourgeois of the time. The facades, sober but elegant, mask richly decorated interiors, typical of Piemonte aristocratic houses.

Honored François Spitalieri, annoyed in 1775 after the purchase of the fief of Cessole in Piedmont, transformed his name into Spitalieri de Cessole. The hotel also housed the Consulate of France until the Revolution. From 1787 onwards, part of the building became the York Hotel, one of the first hotels for travellers in Nice, frequented by personalities such as Alexandre Dumas (1851) or Grand Duke Michel (1837). The palace was also the scene of political events, hosting meetings in 1848 in honour of Garibaldi and debates during the annexation of Nice to France in 1860.

The Spitalieri family, allied with local noble lines (Ripert de Monclar, Raynardi), left Nice in 1792 when the French revolutionary troops arrived, before returning after 1800. Hilarion Spitalieri (1776–45), first president of the Senate of Nice, founded the Philharmonic Circle and invited Paganini in 1836. His brother Eugene, the last mitré abbot of Saint-Pons, left the family library to the city in 1937. The palace, which was listed as a historic monument in 1949, now preserves a remarkable stairwell, a balcony and a cochère door in a grill, testimony to its past.

The neighbourhood around the Place Saint-Dominique, then the heart of the Nice worldly life, saw several private hotels rise in the 18th century, reflecting the rise of merchant families. These residences, often shared between owners and tenants, contributed to the increase in rents, prompting King Charles Emmanuel III to regulate real estate speculation. The York hotel, with its stucco headbands and interior decorations, illustrates this blend of exterior austerity and discreet luxury, characteristic of the Nice architecture of the time.

After the Sardinian Restoration (1815), the palace regained its prestige: Hilarion Spitalieri organized cultural fairs there, while the hotel of York welcomed an international clientele, symbol of the emerging tourism in Nice. In 1860, when France joined, the building was the setting for political dinners. Today, only the facade, the roof and some interior elements (stairs, balcony) are protected, recalling its central role in the social and political history of the city.

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