Villa Kerylos

mosaic at the entrance of the Villa Kerylos

When we visited the Rothschild Villa two days ago, we bought tickets that included the nearby Villa Kerylos.  The Villa was built by French archaeologist Theodore Reinache and his wife (related to the husband of Beatice Rothschild), in collaboration with architect Emmanuel Pontremoli.  Reinache purchased land in Beaulieu-sur-Mer, at the top of Cap Ferrat and surrounded on three sides by water in 1902 and built the villa over the next six years. 

The Villa and its contents are all replicas of artifacts from ancient Greece, Pompeii, and Egypt.  Wall paintings, ceilings, floor mosaics, furniture, columns, baths, furniture--these are meticulously recreated to provide a home which is as authentic to ancient Greece as possible. Both Reinache and Pontremoli traveled extensively in Greece, and some artifacts were collected and are on display in the villa.  We spent two delightful hours here and found the audio guide useful in elaborating on Greek life and culture as well as on the villa rooms. 

Saint Martin Vesube

Part II of today's plan was a trip into the mountains north. We first took the Middle Corniche past the hilltop town of Eze and down to Cap Martin (passing the home of Winston Churchill in his later days) After a sea-view lunch, we headed inland out of the heat and spent 4+ hours traversing various passes--cooling off with each--and reaching our hotel in tiny Beuil at 7:30.