FRANCE ROQUEBRUNE-CAP MARTIN. RIVIERA FRANCESA

Property Description

A truly exceptional villa boasting spacious grounds, stunning design, sea views and illustrious former owners.

Beautifully refurbished, this contemporary villa overlooking the Bay of Cap Martin mixes elegance with a modern twist, creating a stunning Côte d`Azur home, perfect for maximising the Riviera lifestyle.

The former home of internationally renowned designers Dolce and Gabbana, this luxurious property is infused with style, impeccable design and fun. Having undergone a full refurbishment programme to ensure the property features the latest materials, fixtures and fitting; the current owner has maintained key elements from the Dolce and Gabbana era, ensuring that the faultless design and unique Mediterranean inspired aesthetic of the acclaimed pair remains.

Entered via a sweeping driveway and staircase the main level of the villa features sophisticated open plan living, ideal for entertaining as the rooms open to spacious terraces with panoramic views of the gardens and sea beyond.

Incorporating an entrance hall, relaxation area, lounge with fireplace and formal dining, the reception level is complimented via a butler`s kitchen/bar plus a sleek, modern kitchen complimented by skylights and open plan shelving creating fluid lines between the interior and exterior covered dining terrace, a favourite of the current owner due to the exceptional views.

A cutting edge, light filled staircase leads to the first floor, complete with a window lined gallery corridor accessing a discreet vine covered terrace, a luxurious principal bedroom suite and further principal bedroom suite. Each suite features a private terrace boasting exceptional sea views.

The garden level of the property, which can be accessed independently or via an internal staircase is ideal for guests, providing privacy and ample accommodation plus a private terrace and garden views. In addition to a spacious communal hall, office/living area and kitchenette, the garden level includes three en suite bedrooms plus guest cloakroom and laundry room.

Set back from the main property, and advantageously positioned to maximise the views yet retain privacy, a luxury infinity pool with extensive terrace, cabana and sea views compliments the lush grounds which feature a range of palm trees and traditional Mediterranean planting, plus a vegetable garden and vines.

Externally the property features a fitness terrace, boules pitch and independent accommodation.

A spacious garage and staff security room complete this exceptional Riviera home.

Estimated annual energy charges (2021): 3,375€ - 5,107€

Please note, the map does not show the exact location of the property and all measurements are approximate, this data is provided for guidance purposes only.

Local information
Featuring panoramic sea views and set overlooking the coast of Monaco and the Italian Riviera this stunning property profits from an ideal setting for the principality of Monaco.

Roquebrune Cap Martin is a charming location complete with a medieval village surrounding a fortified castle plus the seaside resort of Carnolès, all set between Monaco and Menton.

With exceptional scenery, lush Mediterranean vegetation and historic routes, Roquebrune Cap Martin has drawn artists and aristocracy alike, the 1920s and 30s saw the construction of notable buildings including Coco Chanel`s villa La Pausa.

The area comprises several villages and residential areas in addition to the perched village and chateau, Property ranges from original village houses, Belle époque properties and contemporary luxury villas.

Roquebrune Cap Martin lies approximately 6.5km east of Monaco and approximately 36 km from Nice International airport.

History
In pre-Roman times the area was settled by the Ligurians. Traces of their language can be still found in the local dialect. The commune (originally known as Roccabruna) was founded in 971 by Conrad I, Count of Ventimiglia, in order to protect his western border.

In 1355, Roccabruna fell under the control of the Grimaldi family of Monaco for five centuries, during which time the castle was strengthened.

In 1793, Roquebrune became French for the first time, changing the name from the original Roccabruna, but it was returned to Monaco in 1814.

In 1804 Napoleon built a road along the coastline. This road connected the village to the rest of the Côte d`Azur, and eventually led to its merger with the smaller town of Cap-Martin.

In 1848, there was a revolution related to the Italian Risorgimento, with the result that Roccabruna and Menton became free cities under the protection of the Savoy Prince. They hoped to be part of the Kingdom of Sardinia, but this did not occur, and the towns after two years of independence were put under Savoyan administration (but nominally still under the Prince of Monaco). They remained in a state of political limbo from 1849 until they were finally ceded to France by a plebiscite in 1861.

Giuseppe Garibaldi, who promoted the union of the County of Nice to Italy, complained that the plebiscite was not done with "universal vote" and consequently Roccabruna was requested by Italian irredentists.

From the middle of the 19th century, with the construction of the Marseille Ventimiglia railway line, this stretch of coast also became a magnet for well-known personalities as a holiday home. Elisabeth of Austria spent several months of the last years of her life from 1894 to 1897 at the Hôtel du Cap Martin. Eugénie, widow of Napoleon III, owned a villa here. As a consequence of these irredentism ideals, during World War II all the coastal area between Italy and Monte Carlo was occupied and administered by the Kingdom of Italy until September 1943.

The area became fashionable in the 1920s and 1930s leading to the construction of several notable buildings including Coco Chanel`s La Pausa on Cap Martin, and Eileen Gray and Jean Badovici`s E-1027.

The Irish poet and Nobel Laureate William Butler Yeats died in the Hôtel Idéal Séjour in the neighboring town of Menton on January 28, 1939. In a letter to his wife, Yeats expressed his wish to be buried in a cemetery in Roquebrune for one year and then to be exhumed and reburied in Drumcliff, County Sligo, Ireland.

However, his exhumation was delayed until September 1948 at which point they could no longer locate his remains. According to one account, the French diplomat sent to oversee the reburial, Bernard Cailloux, said that it was "impossible to return the full and authentic remains of Mr Yeats" and proposed asking Dr Rebouillat, the local sworn pathologist, "to reconstitute a skeleton presenting all the characteristics of the deceased".

The remains of several other individuals, including an Englishman named Alfred Hollis, were assembled in a coffin and sent to Ireland for reburial. The entire affair was handled with secrecy on both the part of the French delegation responsible for the burial, and the poet`s family, so as not to elicit outrage from the Irish public.

The incident was not publicly disclosed until the private archives of French diplomat Jacques Camílle Paris were turned over to the Irish Embassy in Paris in June 2015. The story was older than that, and was disputed by the family of the poet in a letter to The Irish Times in 1988.