Dome

Architectural fragment affixed to the villa, south garden elevation; Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild is a French seaside palazzo constructed between 1905 and 1912 at Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat on the French Riviera by Baroness Béatrice de Rothschild (1864-1934). It was designed by the Belgian architect Aaron Messiah. A member of the prominent Rothschild banking family and the wife of the wealthy Russian banker Baron de Ephrussi, Béatrice de Rothschild built her rose-colored villa on a promontory on the isthmus of Cap Ferrat overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. Considered one of the finest properties on the Riviera, beyond its seven themed gardens, the Baroness filled the mansion with antique furniture, Old Master paintings, sculptures, objets d'art, and assembled an extensive collection of rare porcelain. On her death in 1934, the Baroness gifted the property and its collections to the Académie des Beaux Arts division of the Institut de France and it is now open to public visitation. Source: Wikipedia; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page (accessed 6/23/2008)