Les Colombières Villa And Estate, A Mediterranean Masterpiece Designed By The Artist Ferdinand

Les Colombières villa and estate, a Mediterranean masterpiece designed by the artist Ferdinand Bac, nestled in the coastal town of Menton. Les Colombières is an emblematic villa in Menton. It overlooks the town’s Super Garavan district. You can reach it from Menton’s port if you prefer a more discreet arrival. The estate was redesigned by Ferdinand Bac (1859-1952), a belle époque artist, decorator and landscape gardener and a descendant of Jérôme Bonaparte, who was himself a brother of Napoleon Bonaparte. Ferdinand Bac called the main edifice on the estate the “palazzo”. This grand house and its outbuildings stand on three hectares of grounds that follow the relief of the land and offer many vistas – some truly breathtaking – of the shimmering Mediterranean sea, the hills of Italy and the old heart of Menton with its colourful facades. Today, this whole property is listed as a historical monument, both for its architecture and its grounds and their countless decorative features. Here, Ferdinand Bac developed a series of gardens and landscaped backdrops as unique havens to be experienced, ranging from the “Bella Vista” and “Obelisk Garden” to the “Palladio Pavilion” and a cypress-lined path leading to a Spanish-style pond. You see references to antiquity, Greece, Spain, Venice and Tuscany over the course of open-air strolls, without ever dissociating the garden from the architecture. Ponds and patios punctuate your walk up to the palazzo. And vistas of the sea and Italian scenery can be admired throughout the estate thanks to a masterful arrangement of viewpoints. An imposing wooden double gate forms the property’s entrance. It stands in a large arched opening and it is crowned with a wrought-iron railing. The stonework that frames the gate is rendered in a Pompeian red tone. Pale stone columns beneath it bring out this deep red hue. The top of the stone structure is curved. The structure is pierced with a circular opening. Decorative features punctuate it too. The gate takes you onto a large, shady driveway that leads to the edifice’s western elevation, which is designed with pilasters and a marble strip bearing Latin inscriptions. Several paths then lead to the different areas of the estate. Ferdinand Bac’s fascination with King Minos has left a trace here: the haven is deliberately imperial in style with a subtle balance between a desire for grandeur and a desire for private spaces for everyday life, including ponds, patios and a swimming pool.
Information on the risks to which this property is exposed is available on the Géorisques website: https://www.georisques.gouv.fr/