Villa Kerylos
Encyclopedia
Beaulieu-sur-Mer
Beaulieu-sur-Mer , Italian: Belluogo, is a seaside village on the French Riviera between Nice and Monaco. It is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department and borders the communes of Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, Èze, and Villefranche-sur-Mer.-History:...
was built in the early 1900s by Theodore Reinach
Théodore Reinach
Théodore Reinach was a French archaeologist, mathematician, lawyer, papyrologist, philologist, epigrapher, historian, numismatist, musicologist, professor, and politician....
, the famous French archaeologist and his wife Fanny Kann, a daughter of Maximilien Kann and Betty Ephrussi, of the Ephrussi family
Ephrussi family
The Ephrussi family were a Jewish banking and oil dynasty who originated in Odessa, Ukraine. The family were elevated to the nobility by the Habsburg emperor. The family controlled large-scale oil resources in the Crimea and the Caucasus. They had made their initial fortune controlling grain...
. The architect was Emmanuel Pontremoli
Emmanuel Pontremoli
Emmanuel Pontremoli was a French architect and archaeologist. Born in Nice, Alpes-Maritimes, a student in the atelier of Louis-Jules André, in 1890 he won the Prix de Rome in the architecture category and in 1922 became a member of the Académie des Beaux Arts...
. A Greek word, "Kerylos" means Halcyon or kingfisher which in Greek mythology
Greek mythology
Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...
was considered a bird of good omen. http://www.villa-kerylos.com/en/kerylos/519-the_dream_of_two_great_enthusiasts_for_ancient_greece/
Madame Fanny Reinach was a cousin of Maurice Ephrussi
Maurice Ephrussi
Maurice Ephrussi was a French banker who also bred and raced Thoroughbreds.A member of the Ephrussi family, Maurice Ephrussi was born in the free port of Odessa where his father founded the Ephrussi Bank and was involved in the business of exporting wheat...
, who was married to Béatrice de Rothschild
Béatrice Ephrussi de Rothschild
Charlotte Béatrice de Rothschild was a French socialite, art collector, and a member of the prominent Rothschild banking family of France.- Biography :...
, hence the location of Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild
Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild
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 in the Goût Rothschild. It was designed by the Belgian architect Aaron Messiah...
at nearby Cap Ferrat
Cap Ferrat
Cap Ferrat is situated in Alpes-Maritimes département, in southeastern France. It is located in the commune of Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat.Saint Hospitius lived here as a recluse during the sixth century...
. The Greek
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
-style property was gifted to the Institut de France
Institut de France
The Institut de France is a French learned society, grouping five académies, the most famous of which is the Académie française.The institute, located in Paris, manages approximately 1,000 foundations, as well as museums and chateaux open for visit. It also awards prizes and subsidies, which...
in 1928 and is now a museum open to the public.